Analyses by Infrared Spectroscopy and {sup 13} C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance are suitable to determine the paleobotanic source of amber, but cannot differentiate between beds of the same paleobotanic source. Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) using an external set-up is presented as a new and non-destructive semiquantitative method for provenance studies of amber. PIXE analysis is focused at inorganic contents of amber, considering that the composition of microscopic inclusions depends on the sedimentation environment and it can be used to determine similarities and differences between amber samples and correlate them with amber beds. Results of analyses on amber samples from several world regions and a group of archaeological samples from Chiapas, Mexico, are presented. Amber from different regions have specific inorganic elemental contents; archaeological samples can be associated with beds, even if they have the same paleobotanic origin. (Author)

The objective of this study is to create computer vision algorithms for autonomous multiclass identification of amber nuggets by their colour. By applying the proposed methods an automated production sorting system has been developed. This system can be used, for example in combination with conveyor systems, and in any other case that requires distinguishing objects of many classes in a high-rate flow of objects. In order to achieve this, the proposed system operates with colour features sele...

Thermoelectrets yielded thermally stimulated currents but radioelectrets could not be produced even following exposures of 16000 R of ionising radiation. It is concluded that the thermally stimulated currents are due to the depolarisation of dipoles, with activation energy of 1.4 +- 0.1 eV, rather than to discharge of trapped charge carriers. Amber exhibits thermal luminescence following exposure to light of lambda < 500 nm but not to ionising radiation after exposures up to 5500 R, indicating localised impurity/trap/recombination complexes in the specimen surface, with a trap depth of 1.5 +- 0.1 eV. (author)

Full Text Available This article considers the current state and prospective development of the amber industry in the Baltic Sea region. The authors identify the main obstacles to the industry’s development in Russia — poor pricing mechanisms for raw amber, an imbalance between supply and demand, a slow pace of technological modernisation, and a delayed introduction of new technologies and processing techniques. The authors identify gaps in the regulatory framework and highlight problems of legal regulation and law enforcement as regards the amber industry. Combating illegal amber extraction and trafficking is a pressing problem in the Kaliningrad region (Russia and other Baltic region states. The article explores theoretical aspects of the legislative policy on combating illegal amber extraction and trafficking. The authors focus on the relevant law enforcement practices and hold that administrative sanctions for unauthorised amber extraction and trade are not fully effective in Russia. The authors stress the need for introducing criminal liability for a repeated offence and outline opportunities for using forensic gemological examination of amber and amber products.

The fossil record of carnivorous plants is very scarce and macrofossil evidence has been restricted to seeds of the extant aquatic genus Aldrovanda of the Droseraceae family. No case of carnivorous plant traps has so far been reported from the fossil record. Here, we present two angiosperm leaves enclosed in a piece of Eocene Baltic amber that share relevant morphological features with extant Roridulaceae, a carnivorous plant family that is today endemic to the Cape flora of South Africa. Modern Roridula species are unique among carnivorous plants as they digest prey in a complex mutualistic association in which the prey-derived nutrient uptake depends on heteropteran insects. As in extant Roridula, the fossil leaves possess two types of plant trichomes, including unicellular hairs and five size classes of multicellular stalked glands (or tentacles) with an apical pore. The apices of the narrow and perfectly tapered fossil leaves end in a single tentacle, as in both modern Roridula species. The glandular hairs of the fossils are restricted to the leaf margins and to the abaxial lamina, as in extant Roridula gorgonias. Our discovery supports current molecular age estimates for Roridulaceae and suggests a wide Eocene distribution of roridulid plants.

Full Text Available Fossil resins and amber are a product of lithogenesis of resinous substances of higher plants – resinite. These components of plants, like other lipoid ingredients (suberins, coutines, sporinins, natural rubbers are resistant to microbial action, so they are well preserved in bacterial processing of organic matter in the stages of sedimento- and diagenesis, and are well diagnosed in microscopic studies. They occur in a rather wide age range of sedimentary rocks. The amber of the Baltic region of the Eocene age is most fully studied. The article presents the results of a study of the collection of fossil resins and amber from various regions of the world. Samples were studied microscopically; carbon isotope analysis, infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy were performed. The most informative analysis of high-molecular polymeric compounds is IR spectroscopy. It was found that in the analyzed samples of fossil resins of different ages, aromatic compounds are not observed, most of which are first volatilized in fossilization processes. The possibility of influencing the group composition of amber and amber-like resins for sedimentation, diagenesis and catagenesis is discussed. The IR spectra of fossil and modern resin conifers are compared. Using the IR spectroscopy method, an attempt was made to identify the botanical origin of fossil resins.

A fossil opilioacarid mite (Parasitiformes: Opilioacarida) in Burmese amber is described as ? Opilioacarus groehni sp. nov. This ca. 99 Ma record (Upper Cretaceous: Cenomanian) represents only the third fossil example of this putatively basal mite lineage, the others originating from Eocene Baltic amber (ca. 44-49 Ma). Our new record is not only the oldest record of Opilioacarida, but it is also one of the oldest examples of the entire Parasitiformes clade. The presence of Opilioacarida—potentially Opiloacarus—in the Cretaceous of SE Asia suggests that some modern genus groups were formerly more widely distributed across the northern hemisphere, raising questions about previously suggested Gondwanan origins for these mites.

The aim of this study was to provide evidence about oxidation as a surface reaction during degradation of Baltic amber. A clear understanding of the amber-oxygen interaction modalities is essential to develop conservation techniques for museum collections of amber objects. Pellet-shaped samples...

A unique specimen of the fossil harvestman Halitherses grimaldii Giribet and Dunlop, 2005 (Arachnida: Opiliones) from the Cretaceous (ca. 99 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar reveals a fully extended penis. This is the first record of a male copulatory organ of this nature preserved in amber and is of special importance due to the age of the deposit. The penis has a slender, distally flattened truncus, a spatulate heart-shaped glans and a short distal stylus, twisted at the tip. In living harvestmen, the penis yields crucial characters for their systematics. Male genital morphology in H. grimaldii appears to be unique among the wider Dyspnoi clade to which this fossil belongs. The large eyes in the fossil differ markedly from other members of the subfamily Ortholasmatinae to which H. grimaldii was originally referred. Based on recent data, it has been argued that large eyes may be plesiomorphic for Palpatores (i.e. the suborders Eupnoi and Dyspnoi), potentially rendering this character plesiomorphic for the fossil too. Thus, the unique structure of the penis seen here, and the probable lack of diaphanous teeth, present in all other extant non-acropsopilionid Dyspnoi, suggest that H. grimaldii represents a new, extinct family of large-eyed dyspnoid harvestmen, Halithersidae fam. nov.; a higher taxon in amber diagnosed here on both somatic and genital characters.

This paper presents the architectural model AMBER for the design of distributed systems developed at the University of Twente. This model allows the specification of distributed systems in terms of structures of functional entities and their corresponding behaviour. AMBER was originally developed to

Raman microscope spectra of specimens of Baltic and Mexican amber resins containing insect inclusions have been analysed using near-infrared excitation to assess the potential for discrimination between the keratotic remains of the insects and the terpenoid matrix. For the Mexican amber specimen the insect spectra exhibit evidence of significant protein degradation compared with the insect remains in the Baltic amber specimen. In both cases the Raman spectra of the insect remains are still distinguishable from the amber resins. Despite its better preservation, however, no spectra could be obtained from the inside of the larger insect preserved in the Baltic amber in agreement with the observation that most insect inclusions in amber are hollow. It is noted that the Mexican amber insect is located adjacent to a large gas bubble in the amber matrix, to which the observed degradation of the insect and its poor state of preservation are attributed. It is concluded that Raman spectra of insect inclusions can provide useful information about the chemical composition of the remains and that confocal microscopy is particularly advantageous in this respect.

Full Text Available One new genus and three new species of Lygistorrhinidae in early Eocene Cambay amber from India are described, which significantly increases our knowledge about this group in the Eocene. Lygistorrhina indica n. sp. is the oldest fossil known from this extant genus. Indorrhina sahnii n. gen. et sp. shows morphological similarities to each of the two extant genera Lygistorrhina and Asiorrhina. Palaeognoriste orientale is the third species known from a group that has only been recorded from Eocene Baltic amber before. The latter finding reveals faunal links between Cambay amber and the probably slightly younger Baltic amber, adding further evidence that faunal exchange between Europe/Asia and India took place before the formation of Cambay amber.

Diamond crystal ATR FTIR spectroscopy is a rapid technique with virtually no sample preparation which requires small sample amounts and showed potential in the study of ambers. FTIR spectra of ambers present discriminating patterns and can be used to distinguish amber from immature resins as copal, to determine local or Baltic origin of archaeological ambers and to detect most of the falsifications encountered in the amber commercialisation.

Full Text Available The first fossil cyphophthalmid harvestman (Opiliones: Cyphophthalmi from Palaeogene (Eocene Baltic amber is described. This is only the third fossil example of this basal harvestman lineage; the others being from the probably slightly younger Bitterfeld amber and the much older, early Cretaceous, Myanmar (Burmese amber. Although incomplete and lacking most of the appendages, the new Baltic amber fossil can be identified as a female. The somatic characters preserved, especially spiracle morphology and the coxo-genital region, allow it to be assigned with some confidence to the extant genus Siro Latreille, 1796 (Sironidae. This fossil is formally described here as Siro balticus sp. nov. It resembles modern North American Siro species more than modern European ones, and can be distinguished principally on its relatively large size and the outline form of the body.

Radiographic imaging of the thorax remains one of the most challenging and technically difficult areas in all of diagnostic imaging. Plain chest radiography, because it is so commonly utilized, is often considered to be a simple radiographic procedure. However, the inherent configuration of the thorax presents many technical challenges to obtaining good chest radiographs. The ability to visualize both lung parenchyma and mediastinal structures on a single film is technically very difficult as the attenuation of the x-ray beam in the lungs is markedly less than that which occurs in the mediastinum. Therefore it is very difficult to apply the x-ray beam to the thorax in a manner such that relatively similar numbers of photons exit the chest over both the lungs and mediastinum and expose the receptor film. In the past several years interest has turned to exposure techniques which automatically compensate for differences in attenuation between the lungs and mediastinum. These techniques result in a more balanced exposure which in turn is more easily recorded and displayed on film. The author supplied with an AMBER system for initial clinical evaluation. The results of this evaluation are discussed

Romanian amber (rumanite) has been considered to be a separate species of fossil resin for more than a century. While earlier investigators held it to be very similar to succinite (Baltic amber), modern scholars have assigned it a distinctly different botanical origin. We have found that almost all of the constituents of the ether-soluble fractions of 13 specimens of authentic rumanite identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry have previously been reported in the soluble fraction of succinite, including succinic acid and its monoterpene esters. Additionally and significantly, the soluble fraction of rumanite contains a number defunctionalized compounds that do not preexist in succinite, but that are produced by pyrolysis of whole succinite or of its insoluble polymeric fraction. Simultaneous methylation pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the polymeric fraction of seven of the rumanite specimens yielded further copious amounts of dimethyl succinate, a number of diterpene resin acid methyl esters, and additional defunctionalized compounds known to be pyrolysis products of succinite. The evidence shows conclusively that the botanical origin of rumanite is not distinct from that of succinite. Rather, rumanite is a succinite that has suffered partial thermal degradation in the course of the folding of the Oligocene Kliwa sandstone formation in which it is most commonly found.

Microorganisms are the most ancient cells on this planet and they include key phyla for understanding cell evolution and Earth history, but, unfortunately, their microbial records are scarce. Here, we present a critical review of fossilized prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms entrapped in Cretaceous ambers (but not exclusively from this geological period) obtained from deposits worldwide. Microbiota in ambers are rather diverse and include bacteria, fungi, and protists. We comment on the most important microbial records from the last 25 years, although it is not an exhaustive bibliographic compilation. The most frequently reported eukaryotic microfossils are shells of amoebae and protists with a cell wall or a complex cortex. Likewise, diverse dormant stages (palmeloid forms, resting cysts, spores, etc.) are abundant in ambers. Besides, viral and protist pathogens have been identified inside insects entrapped in amber. The situation regarding filamentous bacteria and fungi is quite confusing because in some cases, the same record was identified consecutively as a member of these phylogenetically distant groups. To avoid these identification errors in the future, we propose to apply a more resolute microscopic and analytical method in amber studies. Also, we discuss the most recent findings about ancient DNA repair and bacterial survival in remote substrates, which support the real possibility of ancient DNA amplification and bacterial resuscitation from Cretaceous resins.

Microorganisms are the most ancient cells on this planet and they include key phyla for understanding cell evolution and Earth history, but, unfortunately, their microbial records are scarce. Here, we present a critical review of fossilized prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms entrapped in Cretaceous ambers (but not exclusively from this geological period) obtained from deposits worldwide. Microbiota in ambers are rather diverse and include bacteria, fungi, and protists. We comment on the most important microbial records from the last 25 years, although it is not an exhaustive bibliographic compilation. The most frequently reported eukaryotic microfossils are shells of amoebae and protists with a cell wall or a complex cortex. Likewise, diverse dormant stages (palmeloid forms, resting cysts, spores, etc.) are abundant in ambers. Besides, viral and protist pathogens have been identified inside insects entrapped in amber. The situation regarding filamentous bacteria and fungi is quite confusing because in some cases, the same record was identified consecutively as a member of these phylogenetically distant groups. To avoid these identification errors in the future, we propose to apply a more resolute microscopic and analytical method in amber studies. Also, we discuss the most recent findings about ancient DNA repair and bacterial survival in remote substrates, which support the real possibility of ancient DNA amplification and bacterial resuscitation from Cretaceous resins.

Two new species of Cryptocephalus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are described and illustrated from fossil resin: Cryptocephalus groehni sp. nov (Baltic amber) and Cryptocephalus kheelorum sp. nov. (Dominican amber). These are the first described species of Cryptocephalinae from fossil resin. ...

Full Text Available The family Cantharidae is a worldwide distributed group of flattened and soft-bodied beetles displaying aposematic colouration. These beetles, commonly known as soldier beetles, have an extensive fossil record dating back to the Lower Cretaceous. The majority of fossil material, referred to Cantharidae, is known from amber inclusions. In this paper we describe and illustrate a new soldier beetle Kuskaella macroptera gen. et sp. nov. from the Baltic amber. It is characterised by pronotum of the male parallel-sided in basal third and abruptly narrowed towards apex, and of the female gradually and steadily narrowing from the basal margin to the apex; globular head; unequal maxillary palpomeres with the last segment elongated-globular and pointed; long elytra slightly surpassing the last abdominal segment. This finding is the first described species of both sexes preserved in a single amber piece.

We present here a short review of the calibration processes that are currently applied to the instruments AMBER and MIDI of the VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometer) at Paranal. We first introduce the general principles to calibrate the raw data (the "visibilities") that have been measured by long-baseline optical interferometry. Then, we focus on the specific case of the scientific operation of the VLTI instruments. We explain the criteria that have been used to select calibrator stars for the observations with the VLTI instruments, as well as the routine internal calibration techniques. Among these techniques, the "P2VM" (Pixel-to-Visibility Matrix) in the case of AMBER is explained. Also, the daily monitoring of AMBER and MIDI, that has recently been implemented, is shortly introduced.

The AMBER instrument installed at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) combines the beams from three telescopes to produce spectrally dispersed interference fringes with milli-arcsecond angular scales in the near infrared. Three years after installation, first scientific observations have been carried out mostly during the Science Demonstration Time and the Guaranteed Time. The first science has mainly focused on the environment of various types of stars. Because AMBER has dramatically increased the number of measures per baseline, this instrument brings strong constraints on morphology and models.

Genetic properties of amber uvrA and uvrB mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 are described. The isolation of three amber uvrA and two amber uvrB mutants indicates that the products of these genes are proteins

Recent studies on the ant phylogeny are mainly based on the molecular analyses of extant subfamilies and do not include the extinct, only Cretaceous subfamily Sphecomyrminae. However, the latter is of major importance for ant relationships, as it is considered the most basal subfamily. Therefore, each new discovery of a Mesozoic ant is of high interest for improving our understanding of their early history and basal relationships. In this paper, a new sphecomyrmine ant, allied to the Burmese amber genus Haidomyrmex, is described from mid-Cretaceous amber of France as Haidomyrmodes mammuthus gen. and sp. n. The diagnosis of the tribe Haidomyrmecini is emended based on the new type material, which includes a gyne (alate female) and two incomplete workers. The genus Sphecomyrmodes, hitherto known by a single species from Burmese amber, is also reported and a new species described as S. occidentalis sp. n. after two workers remarkably preserved in a single piece of Early Cenomanian French amber. The new fossils provide additional information on early ant diversity and relationships and demonstrate that the monophyly of the Sphecomyrminae, as currently defined, is still weakly supported.

The AMBER array contains four magnetometers and spans across the geomagnetic equator from L of 1 to an L of 1.4. In addition to filling the largest land-based gap in global magnetometer coverage, the AMBER array will address two fundamental areas of space physics: (1) the processes governing electrodynamics of the equatorial ionosphere as a function of latitude (or L-shell), local time, longitude, magnetic activity, and season, and (2) ULF pulsation strength and its connection with equatorial electrojet strength at low/mid-latitude regions. Satellite observations show unique equatorial ionospheric structures in the African sector, though these have not been confirmed by observation from the ground due to lack of ground-based instruments in the region. In order to have a complete global understanding of equatorial ionosphere motions, deployment of ground-based magnetometers in Africa is essential. One focus of IHY is the deployment of networks of small instruments, including the development of research infrastructure in developing nations through the United Nations Basic Space Science (UNBSS) Small Instrument Array. Therefore, AMBER magnetometer array in partnership with parallel US funded GPS receivers in Africa will allow us to understand the electrodynamics that governs equatorial ionosphere motions. While AMBER routinely observes the F region plasma drift mechanism ( E × B drift), the GPS stations will monitor the structure of plasma at low/mid-latitudes in the African sectors. In addition to new scientific discoveries and advancing the space science research into Africa by establishing scientific collaborations between scientists in the developing and developed nations, the AMBER project also contributes to developing the basic science of heliophysics through cross-disciplinary studies of universal process. This includes the creation of sustainable research/training infrastructure within the developing nations (Africa).

Argon isotope data indicate retained argon in bulk amber (matrix gas) is radiogenic [40Ar/39Ar ???32o] than the much more abundant surface absorbed argon [40Ar/39Ar ???295.5]. Neutron-induced 39Ar is retained in amber during heating experiments to 150?? -250??C, with no evidence of recoiled 39Ar found after irradiation. A maximum permissible volume diffusion coefficient of argon in amber (at ambient temperature) D???1.5 x 10-17 cm2S-1 is calculated from 39Ar retention. 40Ar/39Ar age calculations indicate Dominican Republic amber is ??? 45 Ma and North Dakota amber is ??? 89 Ma, both at least reasonable ages for the amber based upon stratigraphic and paleontological constraints and upon the small amount of radiogenic 40Ar. To date, over 300 gas analyses of ambers and resins of Cretaceous to Recent age that are geographically distributed among fifteen noted world locations identify mixtures of gases in different sites within amber (Berner and Landis, 1988). The presence of multiple mixing trends between compositionally distinct end-members gases within the same sample and evidence for retained radiogenic argon within the amber argue persuasivley against rapid exchange by diffusion of amber-contained gases with moder air. Only gas in primary bubbles entrapped between successive flows of tree resin has been interpreted as original "ancient air", which is an O2-rich end-member gas with air-like N2/Ar ratios. Gas analyses of these primary bubbles indicate atmospheric O2 levels in the Late Cretaceous of ??? 35%, and that atmospheric O2 dropped by early Tertiary time to near a present atmospheric level of 21% O2. A very low argon diffusion coefficient in amber persuasively argues for a gas in primary bubbles trapped in amber being ancient air (possibly modified only by O2 reaction with amber). ?? 1991.

International audience; Burmaneura minuta gen. et sp. nov., the first araripeneurine antlion in amber, is characterized, described and compared with the modern and Mesozoic Myrmeleontidae. The precise position of the fossil within this group is debatable. Interestingly, despite a rather rich fossil record, all Mesozoic Myrmeleontidae belong to subfamilies that are not recorded in the Cenozoic, although this might merely reflect the artificiality of the classification as the extinct groups may...

Microfossils are not only useful for elucidating biological macro- and microevolution but also the biogeochemical history of our planet. Pyritization is the most important and extensive mode of preservation of animals and especially of plants. Entrapping in amber, a fossilized resin, is considered an alternative mode of biological preservation. For the first time, the internal organization of 114-million-year-old microfossils entrapped in Lower Cretaceous amber is described and analyzed, using adapted scanning electron microscopy in backscattered electron mode in association with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy microanalysis. Double fossilization of several protists included in diverse taxonomical groups and some vegetal debris is described and analyzed. In protists without an exoskeleton or shell (ciliates, naked amoebae, flagellates), determinate structures, including the nuclei, surface envelopes (cortex or cytoplasmic membrane) and hyaloplasm are the main sites of pyritization. In protists with a biomineralized skeleton (diatoms), silicon was replaced by pyrite. Permineralization was the main mode of pyritization. Framboidal, subhedral and microcrystalline are the predominant pyrite textures detected in the cells. Abundant pyritized vegetal debris have also been found inside the amber nuggets and the surrounding sediments. This vegetal debris usually contained numerous pyrite framboids and very densely packed polycrystalline pyrite formations infilled with different elements of the secondary xylem. Embedding in amber and pyritization are not always alternative modes of biological preservation during geological times, but double fossilization is possible under certain environmental conditions. Pyritization in protists shows a quite different pattern with regard to plants, due to the different composition and cellular architecture in these microorganisms and organisms. Anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacteria could play a crucial role in this microbial

Full Text Available Abstract Background Microfossils are not only useful for elucidating biological macro- and microevolution but also the biogeochemical history of our planet. Pyritization is the most important and extensive mode of preservation of animals and especially of plants. Entrapping in amber, a fossilized resin, is considered an alternative mode of biological preservation. For the first time, the internal organization of 114-million-year-old microfossils entrapped in Lower Cretaceous amber is described and analyzed, using adapted scanning electron microscopy in backscattered electron mode in association with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy microanalysis. Double fossilization of several protists included in diverse taxonomical groups and some vegetal debris is described and analyzed. Results In protists without an exoskeleton or shell (ciliates, naked amoebae, flagellates, determinate structures, including the nuclei, surface envelopes (cortex or cytoplasmic membrane and hyaloplasm are the main sites of pyritization. In protists with a biomineralized skeleton (diatoms, silicon was replaced by pyrite. Permineralization was the main mode of pyritization. Framboidal, subhedral and microcrystalline are the predominant pyrite textures detected in the cells. Abundant pyritized vegetal debris have also been found inside the amber nuggets and the surrounding sediments. This vegetal debris usually contained numerous pyrite framboids and very densely packed polycrystalline pyrite formations infilled with different elements of the secondary xylem. Conclusion Embedding in amber and pyritization are not always alternative modes of biological preservation during geological times, but double fossilization is possible under certain environmental conditions. Pyritization in protists shows a quite different pattern with regard to plants, due to the different composition and cellular architecture in these microorganisms and organisms. Anaerobic sulphate

Plumage colours bestowed by carotenoid pigments can be important for visual communication and likely have a long evolutionary history within Aves. Discovering plumage carotenoids in fossil feathers could provide insight into the ecology of ancient birds and non-avian dinosaurs. With reference to a modern feather, we sought chemical evidence of carotenoids in six feathers preserved in amber (Miocene to mid-Cretaceous) and in a feather preserved as a compression fossil (Eocene). Evidence of melanin pigmentation and microstructure preservation was evaluated with scanning electron and light microscopies. We observed fine microstructural details including evidence for melanin pigmentation in the amber and compression fossils, but Raman spectral bands did not confirm the presence of carotenoids in them. Carotenoids may have been originally absent from these feathers or the pigments may have degraded during burial; the preservation of microstructure may suggest the former. Significantly, we show that carotenoid plumage pigments can be detected without sample destruction through an amber matrix using confocal Raman spectroscopy.

Plumage colours bestowed by carotenoid pigments can be important for visual communication and likely have a long evolutionary history within Aves. Discovering plumage carotenoids in fossil feathers could provide insight into the ecology of ancient birds and non-avian dinosaurs. With reference to a modern feather, we sought chemical evidence of carotenoids in six feathers preserved in amber (Miocene to mid-Cretaceous) and in a feather preserved as a compression fossil (Eocene). Evidence of melanin pigmentation and microstructure preservation was evaluated with scanning electron and light microscopies. We observed fine microstructural details including evidence for melanin pigmentation in the amber and compression fossils, but Raman spectral bands did not confirm the presence of carotenoids in them. Carotenoids may have been originally absent from these feathers or the pigments may have degraded during burial; the preservation of microstructure may suggest the former. Significantly, we show that carotenoid plumage pigments can be detected without sample destruction through an amber matrix using confocal Raman spectroscopy.

Among nearly 1270 inclusions of Coleoptera found in Upper Eocene Rovno amber, 69 were identified as ant-like stone beetles (Scydmaeninae); 34 were possible to unambiguously determine to the tribal level and were studied in detail. Rovnoleptochromus ableptonoides gen. & sp. n. (Mastigitae: Clidicini), Vertheia quadrisetosa gen. & sp. n. (Cephenniitae: Eutheiini), Cephennomicrus giganteus sp. n. (Cephenniitae: Cephenniini), Glaesoconnus unicus gen. & sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini), Rovnoscydmus frontalis gen. & sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini; type species of Rovnoscydmus), Rovnoscydmus microscopicus sp. n., Euconnus (incertae sedis, near Cladoconnus) palaeogenus sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini), and Stenichnus (s. str.) proavus sp. n. (Scydmaenitae: Glandulariini) are described. Additionally, specimens representing one undescribed species of Vertheia, one of Cephennodes, five of Cephennomicrus, one of Euconnus, one of Microscydmus are recorded, and nine specimens representing an unknown number of species of Rovnoscydmus (and two putative Rovnoscydmus), one Euconnus (and one putative Euconnus), two putative Microscydmus and one putative Scydmoraphes were found in the studied material. The composition of Scydmaeninae fauna in Rovno amber is discussed in the context of ecological preferences and distribution of extant taxa. It is concluded that subtropical and tropical taxa were present in the region where Rovno amber has formed, most notably the second genus and species of the extant tribe Clidicini known from the Eocene of Europe, and six species of the extant genus Cephennomicrus, for the first time found in the fossil record. An annotated catalog of nominal species of Scydmaeninae known in the fossil record is given.

Based on six relatively well-preserved specimens from Eocene Baltic amber, Crepidodera tertiotertiaria sp. nov. is described. The new species is illustrated and compared with morphologically similar extant and fossil relatives. It is the third described fossil species of Crepidodera Chevrolat. In addition to the new taxon, new fossil records of C. decolorata Nadein & Perkovsky from Baltic and Bitterfeld amber are presented. A key to species of Crepidodera described from fossil resins is provided, and a checklist of Coleoptera described from Bitterfeld amber is compiled.

Full Text Available The intense study of coleopteran inclusions from Spanish (Albian in age and French (Albian–Santonian in age Cretaceous ambers, both of Laurasian origin, has revealed that the majority of samples belong to the Polyphaga suborder and, in contrast to the case of the compression fossils, only one family of Archostemata, one of Adephaga, and no Myxophaga suborders are represented. A total of 30 families from Spain and 16 families from France have been identified (with almost twice bioinclusions identified in Spain than in France; 13 of these families have their most ancient representatives within these ambers. A similar study had previously only been performed on Lebanese ambers (Barremian in age and Gondwanan in origin, recording 36 coleopteran families. Few lists of taxa were available for Myanmar (Burmese amber (early Cenomanian in age and Laurasian in origin. Coleopteran families found in Cretaceous ambers share with their modern relatives mainly saproxylic and detritivorous habits in the larval or adult stages, rather than wood-boring behavior. Fifteen of the coleopteran families occur in both the Lebanese and Spanish ambers; while only five are present in both Spanish and French. Considering the paleogeographic proximity and similarity of age of the Spanish and French ambers, the small number of taxa found in common at both areas is surprising. The ancient origin for the Lebanese and Spanish ambers, the paleogeography (including some barriers for terrestrial biota and the local paleohabitats are factors that may explain the dissimilarity with the French specimens. Wildfires are believed to be a more likely cause of resin production during the Cretaceous than infestation by beetles. Current knowledge of the beetle species found in the Cretaceous ambers is introduced.

Ticks are currently among the most prevalent blood-feeding ectoparasites, but their feeding habits and hosts in deep time have long remained speculative. Here, we report direct and indirect evidence in 99 million-year-old Cretaceous amber showing that hard ticks and ticks of the extinct new family Deinocrotonidae fed on blood from feathered dinosaurs, non-avialan or avialan excluding crown-group birds. A †Cornupalpatum burmanicum hard tick is entangled in a pennaceous feather. Two deinocrotonids described as †Deinocroton draculi gen. et sp. nov. have specialised setae from dermestid beetle larvae (hastisetae) attached to their bodies, likely indicating cohabitation in a feathered dinosaur nest. A third conspecific specimen is blood-engorged, its anatomical features suggesting that deinocrotonids fed rapidly to engorgement and had multiple gonotrophic cycles. These findings provide insight into early tick evolution and ecology, and shed light on poorly known arthropod-vertebrate interactions and potential disease transmission during the Mesozoic.

All entomological traps have a capturing bias, and amber, viewed as a trap, is no exception. Thus the fauna trapped in amber does not represent the total existing fauna of the former amber forest, rather the fauna living in and around the resin producing tree. In this paper we compare arthropods from a forest very similar to the reconstruction of the Miocene Mexican amber forest, and determine the bias of different trapping methods, including amber. We also show, using cluster analyses, measurements of the trapped arthropods, and guild distribution, that the amber trap is a complex entomological trap not comparable with a single artificial trap. At the order level, the most similar trap to amber is the sticky trap. However, in the case of Diptera, at the family level, the Malaise trap is also very similar to amber. Amber captured a higher diversity of arthropods than each of the artificial traps, based on our study of Mexican amber from the Middle Miocene, a time of climate optimum, where temperature and humidity were probably higher than in modern Central America. We conclude that the size bias is qualitatively independent of the kind of trap for non–extreme values. We suggest that frequent specimens in amber were not necessarily the most frequent arthropods in the former amber forest. Selected taxa with higher numbers of specimens appear in amber because of their ecology and behavior, usually closely related with a tree–inhabiting life. Finally, changes of diversity from the Middle Miocene to Recent time in Central and South America can be analyzed by comparing the rich amber faunas from Mexico and the Dominican Republic with the fauna trapped using sticky and Malaise traps in Central America. PMID:25785584

All entomological traps have a capturing bias, and amber, viewed as a trap, is no exception. Thus the fauna trapped in amber does not represent the total existing fauna of the former amber forest, rather the fauna living in and around the resin producing tree. In this paper we compare arthropods from a forest very similar to the reconstruction of the Miocene Mexican amber forest, and determine the bias of different trapping methods, including amber. We also show, using cluster analyses, measurements of the trapped arthropods, and guild distribution, that the amber trap is a complex entomological trap not comparable with a single artificial trap. At the order level, the most similar trap to amber is the sticky trap. However, in the case of Diptera, at the family level, the Malaise trap is also very similar to amber. Amber captured a higher diversity of arthropods than each of the artificial traps, based on our study of Mexican amber from the Middle Miocene, a time of climate optimum, where temperature and humidity were probably higher than in modern Central America. We conclude that the size bias is qualitatively independent of the kind of trap for non-extreme values. We suggest that frequent specimens in amber were not necessarily the most frequent arthropods in the former amber forest. Selected taxa with higher numbers of specimens appear in amber because of their ecology and behavior, usually closely related with a tree-inhabiting life. Finally, changes of diversity from the Middle Miocene to Recent time in Central and South America can be analyzed by comparing the rich amber faunas from Mexico and the Dominican Republic with the fauna trapped using sticky and Malaise traps in Central America.

The first fossil species of the genus Masona van Achterberg, 1995, of the subfamily Masoninae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is described and illustrated. It originates from approximately 15-20 millions years old (= Miocene) Dominican amber.

Natural amber, copal resin and colophony are have investigated by UV-VIS, infrared and Raman spectrum. In order to distinguish the natural amber, copal resin and colophony, we have successfully used the nondestructive examination (NDE) technology. The results show that UV-VIS could not distinguish these compositions. The infrared spectra can distinguish them, but the technology may destroy the specimen. The Raman spectra show three characteristic peaks of vibration near position 932 cm-1 and position 1179 cm-1 of copal resin, which confirm the existence of terpenes compounds in it. In the Raman spectra of colophony, the vibration characteristic peak at position 1589 cm-1, caused by the conjugate double bond of internal unsaturated resin acid, is the basis of the characteristic difference between colophony and natural amber. The advantages of the distinguished technology by Raman spectroscopy are convenient and nondestructive examination for natural amber, copal resin and colophony.

This report documents an exercise in which AMBER has been used to represent the models used in Project SAFE, a safety assessment undertaken on SFR 1. (AMBER is a flexible, graphical-user-interface based tool that allows users to build their own dynamic compartmental models to represent the migration, degradation and fate of contaminants in an environmental system. AMBER allows the user to assess routine, accidental and long-term contaminant release.) AMBER has been used to undertake assessment calculations on all of the disposal system, including all disposal tunnels and the Silo, the geosphere and several biosphere modules. The near-field conceptual models were implemented with minimal changes to the approach undertaken previously in Project SAFE. Model complexity varied significantly between individual disposal facilities increasing significantly from the BLA to the BTF and BMA tunnels and Silo. Radionuclide transport through the fractured granite geosphere was approximated using a compartment model approach in AMBER. Several biosphere models were implemented in AMBER including reasonable biosphere development, which considered the evolution of the Forsmark area from coastal to lacustrine to agricultural environments in response to land uplift. Parameters were sampled from distributions and simulations were run for 1,000 realisations. In undertaking the comparison of AMBER with the various codes and calculation tools used in Project SAFE it was necessary to undertake a detailed analysis of the modelling approach previously adopted, with particular focus given to the near-field models. As a result some discrepancies in the implementation of the models and documentation were noted. The exercise demonstrates that AMBER is fully capable of representing the features of the SFR 1 disposal system in a safety assessment suitable for SAR-08

Full Text Available The traffic light scheme is composed of red, green, and amber lights, and it has been defined clearly for the traffic access of red and green lights; however, the definition of that for the amber light is indistinct, which leads to the appearance of uncertainty factors and serious traffic conflicts during the amber light. At present, the traffic administrations are faced with the decision of whether to forbid passing or not during the amber light in the cities of China. On one hand, it will go against the purpose of setting amber lights if forbidding passing; on the other hand, it may lead to a mess of traffic flow running if not. And meanwhile the drivers are faced with the decision of passing the intersection or stopping during the amber light as well. So the decision-making behavior of traffic administrations and drivers can be converted into a double game model. And through quantification of their earnings in different choice conditions, the optimum decision-making plan under specific conditions could be solved via the Nash equilibrium solution concept. Thus the results will provide a basis for the formulation of the traffic management strategy.

The terpenoid compositions of the Late Cretaceous Xixia amber from Central China and the middle Miocene Zhangpu amber from Southeast China were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to elucidate their botanical origins. The Xixia amber is characterized by sesquiterpenoids, abietane and phyllocladane type diterpenoids, but lacks phenolic abietanes and labdane derivatives. The molecular compositions indicate that the Xixia amber is most likely contributed by the conifer family Araucariaceae, which is today distributed primarily in the Southern Hemisphere, but widely occurred in the Northern Hemisphere during the Mesozoic according to paleobotanical evidence. The middle Miocene Zhangpu amber is characterized by amyrin and amyrone-based triterpenoids and cadalene-based sesquiterpenoids. It is considered derived from the tropical angiosperm family Dipterocarpaceae based on these compounds and the co-occurring fossil winged fruits of the family in Zhangpu. This provides new evidence for the occurrence of a dipterocarp forest in the middle Miocene of Southeast China. It is the first detailed biomarker study for amber from East Asia. PMID:25354364

Despite centuries of research addressing amber and its various inclusions, relatively little is known about the specific events having stimulated the production of geologically relevant volumes of plant resin, ultimately yielding amber deposits. Although numerous hypotheses have invoked the role of insects, to date these have proven difficult to test. Here, we use the current mountain pine beetle outbreak in western Canada as an analogy for the effects of infestation on the stable isotopic composition of carbon in resins. We show that infestation results in a rapid (approx. 1 year) (13)C enrichment of fresh lodgepole pine resins, in a pattern directly comparable with that observed in resins collected from uninfested trees subjected to water stress. Furthermore, resin isotopic values are shown to track both the progression of infestation and instances of recovery. These findings can be extended to fossil resins, including Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic and Late Cretaceous New Jersey amber, revealing similar carbon-isotopic patterns between visually clean ambers and those associated with the attack of wood-boring insects. Plant exudate δ(13)C values constitute a sensitive monitor of ecological stress in both modern and ancient forest ecosystems, and provide considerable insight concerning the genesis of amber in the geological record.

Full Text Available A new fossil fly species, Acartophthalmites willii sp. n. (Diptera: Acalyptratae: Opomyzoidea from Baltic amber (Eocene, 56−33.9 Ma, is described based on a male originally assigned by Hennig (1969 to A. tertiaria Hennig, 1965, who erroneously also referred to it in the same work as “A. electrica Hennig” (unavailable name. The new species, representing the third named species of the extinct genus with unclear familial relationships Acartophthalmites Hennig, 1965, is herein described and illustrated in detail, and its systematic implications and relationships are discussed. From the morphological standpoint, the new species represents an intermediate form between the two formerly described species within the genus, therefore expanding the character combination diversity in this lineage of acalyptrate flies. The genus Acartophthalmites is considered to be most closely related to Clusiidae and, therefore, it is herein tentatively classified within the superfamily Opomyzoidea. The current work takes part of an effort to review the Acartophthalmites diversity in order to gain knowledge on the morphological data from the specimens described within the genus and ultimately enable a reliable analysis of its phylogenetic relationships with other acalyptrates.

Fossil mesostigmatid mites are extremely rare. Inclusions assignable to the tortoise mites (Mesostigmata, Uropodina) are described here for the first time from Eocene (ca. 44-49 Ma) Baltic amber. This is the oldest record of Uropodina and documents the first unequivocal amber examples potentially assignable to the extant genus Uroobovella Berlese, 1903 (Uropodoidea: Urodinychidae). Further mites in the same amber pieces are tentatively assigned to Microgynioidea (Microgyniina) and Ascidae (Gamasina), both potentially representing the oldest records of their respective superfamily and family groups. This new material also preserves behavioural ecology in the form of phoretic deutonymphs attached to their carriers via a characteristic anal pedicel. These deutonymphs in amber are intimately associated with longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), probably belonging to the extinct species Nothorhina granulicollis Zang, 1905. Modern uropodines have been recorded phoretic on species belonging to several beetle families, including records of living Uroobovella spp. occurring on longhorn beetles. Through these amber inclusions, a uropodine-cerambycid association can now be dated back to at least the Eocene.

The life-like fidelity of organisms captured in amber is unique among all kinds of fossilization and represents an invaluable source for different fields of palaeontological and biological research. One of the most challenging aspects in amber research is the study of traits related to behaviour. Here, indirect evidence for pheromone-mediated mating behaviour is recorded from a biting midge (Ceratopogonidae) in 54 million-year-old Indian amber. Camptopterohelea odora n. sp. exhibits a complex, pocket shaped structure on the wings, which resembles the wing folds of certain moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) and scent organs that are only known from butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) so far. Our studies suggests that pheromone releasing structures on the wings have evolved independently in biting midges and might be much more widespread in fossil as well as modern insects than known so far.

The life-like fidelity of organisms captured in amber is unique among all kinds of fossilization and represents an invaluable source for different fields of palaeontological and biological research. One of the most challenging aspects in amber research is the study of traits related to behaviour. Here, indirect evidence for pheromone-mediated mating behaviour is recorded from a biting midge (Ceratopogonidae) in 54 million-year-old Indian amber. Camptopterohelea odora n. sp. exhibits a complex, pocket shaped structure on the wings, which resembles the wing folds of certain moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) and scent organs that are only known from butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) so far. Our studies suggests that pheromone releasing structures on the wings have evolved independently in biting midges and might be much more widespread in fossil as well as modern insects than known so far.

A new whitefly Snotra christelae gen. et sp. n. is characterized, illustrated, and described from the Baltic amber. It represents the first record of gregarious behavior of Aleyrodinae (Aleyrodidae) whiteflies in fossil state. Implications of this finding on interpretation of whiteflies and their host-plant relationships and evolutionary traits of the group are discussed.

For nearly 100 million years, the India subcontinent drifted from Gondwana until its collision with Asia some 50 Ma, during which time the landmass presumably evolved a highly endemic biota. Recent excavations of rich outcrops of 50–52-million-year-old amber with diverse inclusions from the Cambay Shale of Gujarat, western India address this issue. Cambay amber occurs in lignitic and muddy sediments concentrated by near-shore chenier systems; its chemistry and the anatomy of associated fossil wood indicates a definitive source of Dipterocarpaceae. The amber is very partially polymerized and readily dissolves in organic solvents, thus allowing extraction of whole insects whose cuticle retains microscopic fidelity. Fourteen orders and more than 55 families and 100 species of arthropod inclusions have been discovered thus far, which have affinities to taxa from the Eocene of northern Europe, to the Recent of Australasia, and the Miocene to Recent of tropical America. Thus, India just prior to or immediately following contact shows little biological insularity. A significant diversity of eusocial insects are fossilized, including corbiculate bees, rhinotermitid termites, and modern subfamilies of ants (Formicidae), groups that apparently radiated during the contemporaneous Early Eocene Climatic Optimum or just prior to it during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Cambay amber preserves a uniquely diverse and early biota of a modern-type of broad-leaf tropical forest, revealing 50 Ma of stasis and change in biological communities of the dipterocarp primary forests that dominate southeastern Asia today. PMID:20974929

We have investigated the use of nanopillar structures on high indium content InGaN amber multiple quantum well (MQW) samples to enhance the emission efficiency. A significant emission enhancement was observed which can be attributed to the enhancement of internal quantum efficiency and light...

A new genus of ants, Zigrasimecia Barden and Grimaldi, is described for a new and uniquely specialized species, Z. tonsora Barden and Grimaldi n.sp., preserved in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. The amber is radiometrically dated at 99 myo. Zigrasimecia is closely related to another basal genus of ants known only in Burmese and French Cretaceous amber, Sphecomyrmodes Engel and Grimaldi, based in part on the shared possession of a comb of pegs on the clypeal margin, as well as mandible structure. Highly specialized features of Zigrasimecia include extensive development of the clypeal comb, a thick brush of setae on the oral surface of the mandibles and on the labrum, and a head that is broad, flattened, and which bears a crown of blackened, rugose cuticle. Mouthparts are hypothesized to have functioned in a unique manner, showing no clear signs of dentition representative of "chewing" or otherwise processing solid food. Although all ants in Burmese amber are basal, stem-group taxa, there is an unexpected diversity of mouthpart morphologies and probable feeding modes.

We describe a new extinct lineage Manipulatoridae (new family) of cockroaches from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) amber of Myanmar. Manipulator modificaputis gen. et sp. n. is a morphologically unique extinct cockroach that represents the first (of a total of 29 known worldwide) cockroach family reported exclusively from the Myanmar amber. This family represents an early side branch of the stem group of Mantodea (most probably a sister group of Eadiidae within Blattaria/Corydioidea) because it has some synapomorphies with the Mantodea (including the stem group and Eadiidae). This family also retains symplesiomorphies that exclude a position in the crown group, and furthermore has unique autapomorphies that exclude a position as a direct ancestor of Mantodea. The unique adaptations such as strongly elongated extremities and freely movable head on a long neck suggest that these animals were pursuit predators. Five additional specimens (including two immatures) reported from the Myanmar amber suggest that this group was relatively rare but belonged to the indigenous and autochthonous inhabitants of the ancient amber forest of the Myanmar region.

In this paper a new species of fossil ground-beetle, Coptodera elektra n. sp. (Coleoptera: Carabidae) preserved in a piece of Baltic amber (Eocene) is described and the paleobiology of the species is studied. This new species represents the first known fossil record for the genus, as well as the first record of its presence in Europe.

Nuclides in radioactive wastes are assumed to be transported in the geosphere by groundwater and probably discharged into the biosphere. Quantitative evaluation of doses to human beings due to nuclide transport in the geosphere and through the various pathways in the biosphere is the final step of safety assessment of the radioactive waste repository. To calculate the flux to dose conversion factors (DCFs) for nuclides appearing at GBIs with their decay chains, a template ACBIO which is an AMBER case file based on mathematical model for the mass transfer coefficients between the compartments has been developed considering material balance among the compartments in biosphere and then implementing to AMBER, a general and flexible software tool that allows to build dynamic compartment models. An illustrative calculation with ACBIO is shown.

Full Text Available We have investigated the use of nanopillar structures on high indium content InGaN amber multiple quantum well (MQW samples to enhance the emission efficiency. A significant emission enhancement was observed which can be attributed to the enhancement of internal quantum efficiency and light extraction efficiency. The size-dependent strain relaxation effect was characterized by photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. In addition, the light extraction efficiency of different MQW samples was studied by finite-different time-domain simulations. Compared to the as-grown sample, the nanopillar amber MQW sample with a diameter of 300 nm has demonstrated an emission enhancement by a factor of 23.8.

We have investigated the use of nanopillar structures on high indium content InGaN amber multiple quantum well (MQW) samples to enhance the emission efficiency. A significant emission enhancement was observed which can be attributed to the enhancement of internal quantum efficiency and light extraction efficiency. The size-dependent strain relaxation effect was characterized by photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. In addition, the light extraction efficiency of different MQW samples was studied by finite-different time-domain simulations. Compared to the as-grown sample, the nanopillar amber MQW sample with a diameter of 300 nm has demonstrated an emission enhancement by a factor of 23.8.

Betelgeuse Workshop, November 2012, Paris. To be published in the European Astronomical Society Publications Series, 2013, Editors: Pierre Kervella, Thibaut Le Bertre & Guy Perrin; International audience; We present the results of the analysis of our recent interferometric observations of Betelgeuse, using the AMBER instrument of the VLTI. Using the medium spectral resolution mode ($R \\sim 1500$) we detected the presence of the water vapour and carbon monoxide (CO) molecules in the H and K ba...

To find aquatic organisms in tree resin may seem to be highly unlikely, but the fossil record provides numerous amber-preserved limnetic arthropods (e.g., water beetles, water striders, and crustaceans) and microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, algae, ciliates, testate amoebae, and rotifers). Here we explain the frequently discussed process of embedding aquatic organisms in tree resin based on field studies in a Florida swamp forest. Different aquatic arthropods and all major groups of limnetic mic...

A temperature stable (color and efficiency) III-nitride based amber (585 nm) light-emitting diode is based on a novel hybrid nanowire-planar structure. The arrays of GaN nanowires enable radial InGaN/GaN quantum well LED structures with high indium content and high material quality. The high efficiency and temperature stable direct yellow and red phosphor-free emitters enable high efficiency white LEDs based on the RGYB color-mixing approach.

The staphylinid subfamily Micropeplinae includes small strongly sclerotized beetles with truncate elytra leaving the most part of abdomen exposed. Fossil micropeplines are rare and confined to Cenozoic representatives of extant genera. Here, we describe the oldest micropepline, Protopeplus cretaceus gen. and sp. n., from the Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. Fluorescence microscope and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were both used to reveal diagnostic features of Micropeplinae and some primitive traits that place Protopeplus very basally within Micropeplinae.

Hemicoelus favonii sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Eocene Baltic amber. This new fossil species differs from extant congeners in having 11-segmented antennae; a metathoracic ventrite with large impression in its anterior portion; a pronotum distinctly narrower than the elytral base region; the posterior suture of abdominal ventrite 1 weakly arcuate medially; sharp lateral pronotal margins that are incomplete and distinct in their basal half only; elytral striae that are not grouped in pairs; posterior pronotal angles that are rounded; elytral intestriae 3, 5, 7 and 9 that are distinctly convex; and a comparatively small total body size. The presence of Hemicoelus in Baltic amber suggests that moist, rotting wood was available as a microhabitat in the ancient forest. Beyond the new species description, the systematic placement of Anobium jacquelinae Hawkeswood, Makhan & Turner is discussed. A new fossil record for Microbregma waldwico Bukejs & Alekseev, and the first report of the genus Trichodesma LeConte from Eocene Baltic amber are also presented.

The study compared the quality of roentgenologic criteria in the evaluation of the heart and pulmonary vessels on chest X-rays obtained with different imaging systems. Fifty patients had four different chest radiographs, i.e. conventional chest X-rays, AMBER images, digital storage phosphor images, and digital storage radiographs that were obtained with the AMBER system. Comparison of techniques was based on 12 well-defined quality criteria of chest X-rays. Four radiologists with expertise reviewed the films according to these criteria. The AMBER technique was found to be superior to the remaining imaging modalities in visualization of the central pulmonary vessels, the descending aorta, and the left atrium. Peripheral pulmonary vessels were best appreciated with AMBER technique combined with storage phosphor technique. The same technique was superior in the assessment of all cardiovascular criteria. The superiority of this technique versus conventional chest X-rays can be explained on the basis of the linear slope of the gradation curve of AMBER and digital techniques. (orig.) [de

Tertiary insects and arachnids have been virtually unknown from the vast western Amazonian basin. We report here the discovery of amber from this region containing a diverse fossil arthropod fauna (13 hexapod families and 3 arachnid species) and abundant microfossil inclusions (pollen, spores, algae, and cyanophyceae). This unique fossil assemblage, recovered from middle Miocene deposits of northeastern Peru, greatly increases the known diversity of Cenozoic tropical–equatorial arthropods and microorganisms and provides insights into the biogeography and evolutionary history of modern Neotropical biota. It also strengthens evidence for the presence of more modern, high-diversity tropical rainforest ecosystems during the middle Miocene in western Amazonia. PMID:16950875

Amber Succinea putris snails were collected in the Leningrad Region (Russia). Some of them were infected with trematodes Leucochloridium paradoxum, Leucochloridium perturbatum and Leucochloridium vogtianum. One snail had triple infection with all these species. Genotyping of sporocysts by ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 nucleotide sequences of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and phylogenetic analysis were performed. The results confirmed the species identification of sporocysts of Leucochloridium based on the shape and colour of mature broodsacs. Sporocyst broodsacs could leave the host snail on their own, remaining viable in the environment for up to an hour. This ability of sporocysts may prevent the excessive infection of the molluscan host.

We describe a new genus and species of Histeridae from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber, Amplectister tenax Caterino & Maddison, gen. & sp. n. This species represents the third known Cretaceous histerid, which, like the others, is highly distinct and cannot easily be placed to subfamily. It exhibits prosternal characters in common with Saprininae, but other characters appear inconsistent with this possibility. The abdominal venter is strongly concave, and the hind legs are enlarged and modified for grasping. We hypothesize that this represents the earliest example in Histeridae of modifications for phoresy on social insects.

Microscapha andrzeji sp. nov., the first fossil representative of the genus is described from Eocene Baltic amber. An updated list of fossil Melandryidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) is provided. The presence of Microscapha within Baltic amber suggests some potential for palaeoenvironmental inferences based on the melandryid assemblage within the deposit.

To demonstrate the performance of a repository, the dose exposure rate to human being due to long-term nuclide releases from a high-level waste repository (HLW) should be evaluated and the results compared to the dose limit presented by the regulatory bodies. To evaluate such a dose rate to an individual, biosphere assessment models have been developed and implemented for a practical calculation with the aid of such commercial tools as AMBER and GoldSim, both of which are capable of probabilistic and deterministic calculation. AMBER is a general purpose compartment modeling tool and GoldSim is another multipurpose simulation tool for dynamically modeling complex systems, supporting a higher graphical user interface than AMBER and a postprocessing feature. And also unlike AMBER, any kind of compartment scheme can be rather simply constructed with an appropriate transition rate between compartments, GoldSim is designed to facilitate the object-oriented modules to address any specialized programs, similar to solving jig saw puzzles. During the last couple of years a compartment modeling approach for a biosphere has been mainly carried out with AMBER in KAERI in order to conservatively or rather roughly provide dose conversion factors to get the final exposure rate due to a nuclide flux into biosphere over various geosphere-biosphere interfaces (GBIs) calculated through nuclide transport modules. This caused a necessity for a newly devised biosphere model that could be coupled to a nuclide transport model with less conservatism in the frame of the development of a total system performance assessment modeling tool, which could be successfully done with the aid of GoldSim. Therefore, through the current study, some comparison results of the AMBER and the GoldSim approaches for the same case of a biosphere modeling without any consideration of geosphere transport are introduced by extending a previous study

Full Text Available Cambay amber originates from the warmest period of the Eocene, which is also well known for the appearance of early angiosperm-dominated megathermal forests. The humid climate of these forests may have triggered the evolution of epiphytic lineages of bryophytes; however, early Eocene fossils of bryophytes are rare. Here, we present evidence for lejeuneoid liverworts and pleurocarpous mosses in Cambay amber. The preserved morphology of the moss fossil is inconclusive for a detailed taxonomic treatment. The liverwort fossil is, however, distinctive; its zig-zagged stems, suberect complicate-bilobed leaves, large leaf lobules, and small, deeply bifid underleaves suggest a member of Lejeuneaceae subtribe Lejeuneinae (Harpalejeunea, Lejeunea, Microlejeunea. We tested alternative classification possibilities by conducting divergence time estimates based on DNA sequence variation of Lejeuneinae using the age of the fossil for corresponding age constraints. Consideration of the fossil as a stem group member of Microlejeunea or Lejeunea resulted in an Eocene to Late Cretaceous age of the Lejeuneinae crown group. This reconstruction is in good accordance with published divergence time estimates generated without the newly presented fossil evidence. Balancing available evidence, we describe the liverwort fossil as the extinct species Microlejeunea nyiahae, representing the oldest crown group fossil of Lejeuneaceae.

To find aquatic organisms in tree resin may seem to be highly unlikely, but the fossil record provides numerous amber-preserved limnetic arthropods (e.g., water beetles, water striders, and crustaceans) and microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, algae, ciliates, testate amoebae, and rotifers). Here we explain the frequently discussed process of embedding aquatic organisms in tree resin based on field studies in a Florida swamp forest. Different aquatic arthropods and all major groups of limnetic microorganisms were found embedded in resin that had contact with swamp water. The taphonomy of aquatic organisms differs from that of terrestrial plants and animals that get stuck on resin surfaces and are enclosed by successive resin outflows. Large and highly motile arthropods are predestined for embedding. The number of microbial inclusions is increased when tiny drops of water with aquatic organisms become enclosed in resin while it is flowing in an aquatic environment. Bacteria and fungi may grow inside the resin as long as it has not solidified and therefore become secondarily accumulated. In contact with air, even resin that had initially been flowing into water may solidify and potentially form amber. PMID:17940051

Full Text Available A new species of sand fly, Pintomyia (Pifanomyia falcaorum is described from an amber originated from the northern mountain range of Dominican Republic. The male sand fly specimen is well preserved and most features used in Phlebotominae taxonomy are seen with remarkable clarity.

In this work we describe the development of parameters for In(III) and Cu(II) for the AMBER* force field as found in the modeling package MacroModel. These parameters were developed using automated procedures from a combination of crystallographic structures and ab initio calculations. The new pa...

In the current paper the first fossil representatives of leaf-beetles from the subfamily Lamprosomatinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are described and illustrated from Upper Eocene Baltic amber: Succinoomorphus warchalowskii gen. et sp. nov., Archelamprosomius balticus gen. et sp. nov., and Archelamprosomius kirejtshuki sp. nov. A key to fossil Lamprosomatinae is provided.

We present the results of the analysis of our recent interferometric observations of Betelgeuse, using the AMBER instrument of the VLTI. Using the medium spectral resolution mode (R ~ 1500) we detected the presence of the water vapour and carbon monoxide (CO) molecules in the H and K bands. We also derived the photospheric angular diameter in the continuum. By analysing the depth of the molecular lines and the interferometric visibilities, we derived the column densities of the molecules, as well as the temperature and the size of the corresponding regions in the atmosphere of Betelgeuse (the MOLsphere) using a single shell model around the photosphere. Our results confirm the findings by Perrin et al. (2004) and Ohnaka et al. (2011) that the H2O and CO molecules are distributed around Betelgeuse in a MOLsphere extending to approximately 1.3 times the star's photospheric radius.

Two new earwigs (Dermaptera) recently discovered in mid-Cretaceous (latest Albian) amber from Myanmar are described and figured. Astreptolabis ethirosomatiagen. et sp. n. is represented by a peculiar pygidicranoid female, assigned to a new subfamily, Astreptolabidinaesubfam. n., and differs from other protodermapterans in the structure of the head, pronotum, tegmina, and cercal forceps. Tytthodiplatys mecynocercusgen. et sp. n. is a distinctive form of first-instar nymph of the Diplatyidae, the earliest record for this basal earwig family. The taxon can be distinguished from other Early Cretaceous nymphs by the structure of the head, antennae, legs, and most notably its filamentous and annulate cerci. The character affinities of these taxa among Neodermaptera are generally discussed as is the identity of an enigmatic 'earwig-like' species from the Jurassic of China.

Full Text Available Two new earwigs (Dermaptera recently discovered in mid-Cretaceous (latest Albian amber from Myanmar are described and figured. Astreptolabis ethirosomatia gen. et sp. n. is represented by a peculiar pygidicranoid female, assigned to a new subfamily, Astreptolabidinae subfam. n., and differs from other protodermapterans in the structure of the head, pronotum, tegmina, and cercal forceps. Tytthodiplatys mecynocercus gen. et sp. n. is a distinctive form of first-instar nymph of the Diplatyidae, the earliest record for this basal earwig family. The taxon can be distinguished from other Early Cretaceous nymphs by the structure of the head, antennae, legs, and most notably its filamentous and annulate cerci. The character affinities of these taxa among Neodermaptera are generally discussed as is the identity of an enigmatic ‘earwig-like’ species from the Jurassic of China.

Modern tropical forests harbor an enormous diversity of squamates, but fossilization in such environments is uncommon and little is known about tropical lizard assemblages of the Mesozoic. We report the oldest lizard assemblage preserved in amber, providing insight into the poorly preserved but potentially diverse mid-Cretaceous paleotropics. Twelve specimens from the Albian-Cenomanian boundary of Myanmar (99 Ma) preserve fine details of soft tissue and osteology, and high-resolution x-ray computed tomography permits detailed comparisons to extant and extinct lizards. The extraordinary preservation allows several specimens to be confidently assigned to groups including stem Gekkota and stem Chamaleonidae. Other taxa are assignable to crown clades on the basis of similar traits. The detailed preservation of osteological and soft tissue characters in these specimens may facilitate their precise phylogenetic placement, making them useful calibration points for molecular divergence time estimates and potential keys for resolving conflicts in higher-order squamate relationships.

Full Text Available In 2015 B. Guenard with co-authors indicated that the Rovno amber ant assemblage, as described by G. Dlussky and A. Rasnitsyn (2009, showed modest support for a bias towards arboreal origin comparing the Baltic and Bitterfeld assemblages, although it is not clear whether this reflects a sampling error or a signal of real deviation. Since 2009, the Rovno ant collection has now grown more than twice in volume which makes possible to check if the above inference about the essentially arboreal character of the assemblage is real or due to a sampling error. The comparison provided suggests in favour of the latter reason for the bias revealed by B. Guenard and co-authors. The new and larger data on the Rovno assemblage show that the share of non-arboreal ants is now well comparable with those concerning the Baltic and Bitterfeld assemblages. This holds true for the both total assemblages and subassemblages of worker ants only.

Prescribing of diclofenac for children usually involves a dose different from commercially available strengths. This drug is available only as tablets, which can be divided only so many times before the dose obtained becomes inaccurate. In addition, children may have difficulty swallowing tablets. For these reasons, a compounding formula for a liquid dosage form is essential to ensure effective delivery of the drug to pediatric patients. To develop a compounding formula for diclofenac sodium and to determine the extended physical and chemical stability of this compound when stored in amber polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prescription bottles under refrigeration and at room temperature. A suspension of diclofenac sodium (10 mg/mL) was prepared from commercially available diclofenac sodium tablets, with Ora-Blend as the suspending and flavouring agent. The suspension was packaged in 60-mL amber PVC prescription bottles and stored at either room temperature (23°C) or under refrigeration (5°C). Samples were collected on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 27, 56, and 93. Chemical stability was determined using a validated stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method. At each sampling time, the suspensions were checked for changes in appearance (i.e., colour, layering, caking, ease of resuspension), odour, and pH. The diclofenac sodium suspensions were very stable, retaining at least 99.5% of the original concentration for up to 93 days, regardless of storage temperature. There were no apparent changes in the physical appearance of the suspensions, nor were there any substantial changes in odour or pH. Suspensions of diclofenac sodium (10 mg/mL) were quantitatively stable but difficult to prepare because of the enteric coating of the tablets. Therefore, it is recommended that diclofenac powder be used for the preparation of suspensions. For pediatric use, palatability is a consideration, and a masking agent should be added before administration. An expiry date of up to

The Eocene elmid beetles known from Baltic amber so far are reviewed, and their natural environment is discussed. Palaeoriohelmis samlandica Bollow, 1940 is re-described based on examination of the holotype. The genus Palaeoriohelmis Bollow, 1940 is synonymized with Heterlimnius Hinton, 1935, and Palaeoriohelmis samlandica is transferred to Heterlimnius (H. samlandicus comb. nov.). Heterelmis groehni sp. nov. is described and illustrated. Elmadulescens rugosus Peris, Maier & Sánchez-García, 2015 from Cretaceous Spanish amber is removed from Elmidae.

Background: Fossil ticks are extremely rare, whereby Ixodes succineus Weidner, 1964 from Eocene (ca. 44–49 Ma) Baltic amber is one of the oldest examples of a living hard tick genus (Ixodida: Ixodidae). Previous work suggested it was most closely related to the modern and widespread European sheep tick Ixodes ricinus (Linneaus, 1758). Results: Restudy using phase contrast synchrotron x-ray tomography yielded images of exceptional quality. These confirm the fossil’s referral to Ixodes Latreille, 1795, but the characters resolved here suggest instead affinities with the Asian subgenus Partipalpiger Hoogstraal et al., 1973 and its single living (and medically significant) species Ixodes ovatus Neumann, 1899. We redescribe the amber fossil here as Ixodes (Partipalpiger) succineus. Conclusions: Our data suggest that Ixodes ricinus is unlikely to be directly derived from Weidner’s amber species, but instead reveals that the Partipalpiger lineage was originally more widely distributed across the northern hemisphere. The closeness of Ixodes (P.) succineus to a living vector of a wide range of pathogens offers the potential to correlate its spatial and temporal position (northern Europe, nearly 50 million years ago) with the estimated origination dates of various tick-borne diseases.

The diversity of feeding apparatuses in insects far exceeds that observed in any other animal group. Consequently, tracking mouthpart innovation in insects is one of the keys toward understanding their diversification. In hemipteroid insects (clade Paraneoptera or Acercaria: lice, thrips, aphids, cicadas, bugs, etc.), the transition from chewing to piercing-and-sucking mouthparts is widely regarded as the turning point that enabled hyperdiversification of the Hemiptera, the fifth largest insect order. However, the transitional process from chewing to piercing-and-sucking in the Paraneoptera was hitherto completely unknown. In this paper, we report a well preserved mid Cretaceous amber fossil of the paraneopteran insect family Archipsyllidae and describe it as Mydiognathus eviohlhoffae gen. et sp. n. This species has elongate mandibles and styliform laciniae similar to Hemiptera but retains functional chewing mouthparts. A number of morphological characters place the Archipsyllidae as the sister group of the thrips plus hemipterans, which strongly suggests that the mouthparts of M. eviohlhoffae represent a transitional condition from primitive chewing to derived piercing-and-sucking mouthparts. The clade composed of Archipsyllidae, thrips, and hemipterans is here named Pancondylognatha, a new supra-ordinal taxon. Based on newly obtained information, we also assess the monophyly of the Paraneoptera, which was called into question by recent phylogenomic analyses. A phylogenetic analysis that includes Mydiognathus strongly supports the monophyly of the Paraneoptera.

Cockroach genera with synanthropic species (Blattella, Ectobius, Supella, Periplaneta, Diploptera and ?Blatta), as well as other insects such as honeybees, although natively limited to certain continents nowadays, had circumtropic distribution in the past. The ease of their reintroduction into their former range suggests a post-Early Miocene environmental stress which led to the extinction of cosmopolitan Tertiary entomofauna in the Americas, whilst in Eurasia, Africa and Australia this fauna survived. This phenomenon is demonstrated here on a low diversity (10 spp.) living cockroach genus Supella, which is peculiar for the circumtropical synanthropic brownbanded cockroach S. longipalpa and also for its exclusively free-living cavicolous species restricted to Africa. S. (Nemosupella) miocenica sp. nov. from the Miocene amber of Chiapas in Mexico is a sister species to the living S. mirabilis from the Lower Guinea forests and adjacent savannas. The difference is restricted to the shape of the central macula on the pronotum, and size, which may indicate the around-Miocene origin of the living, extremely polymorphic Supella species and possibly also the isochronic invasion into the Americas. The species also has a number of characteristics of the Asian (and possibly also Australian) uniform genus Allacta (falling within the generic variability of Supella) suggesting Supella is a direct ancestor of the former. The present species is the first significant evidence for incomplete hiati between well defined cockroach genera — a result of the extensive fossil record of the group. The reported specimen is covered by a mycelium of a parasitic fungus Cordyceps or Entomophthora.

Whether the structure of ecological communities can exhibit stability over macroevolutionary timescales has long been debated. The similarity of independently evolved Anolis lizard communities on environmentally similar Greater Antillean islands supports the notion that community evolution is deterministic. However, a dearth of Caribbean Anolis fossils--only three have been described to date--has precluded direct investigation of the stability of anole communities through time. Here we report on an additional 17 fossil anoles in Dominican amber dating to 15-20 My before the present. Using data collected primarily by X-ray microcomputed tomography (X-ray micro-CT), we demonstrate that the main elements of Hispaniolan anole ecomorphological diversity were in place in the Miocene. Phylogenetic analysis yields results consistent with the hypothesis that the ecomorphs that evolved in the Miocene are members of the same ecomorph clades extant today. The primary axes of ecomorphological diversity in the Hispaniolan anole fauna appear to have changed little between the Miocene and the present, providing evidence for the stability of ecological communities over macroevolutionary timescales.

Full Text Available Methanogenic archaea possess unusual seryl-tRNA synthetases (SerRS, evolutionarily distinct from the SerRSs found in other archaea, eucaryotes and bacteria. Our recent X-ray structural analysis of Methanosarcina barkeri SerRS revealed an idiosyncratic N-terminal domain and catalytic zinc ion in the active site. To shed further light on substrate discrimination by methanogenic-type SerRS, we set up to explore in vivo the interaction of methanogenic-type SerRSs with their cognate tRNAs in Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The expression of various methanogenic-type SerRSs was toxic for E. coli, resulting in the synthesis of erroneous proteins, as revealed by β-galactosidase stability assay. Although SerRSs from methanogenic archaea recognize tRNAsSer from all three domains of life in vitro, the toxicity presumably precluded the complementation of endogenous SerRS function in both, E. coli and S. cerevisiae. However, despite the observed toxicity, coexpression of methanogenic-type SerRS with its cognate tRNA suppressed bacterial amber mutation.

Incorporation of nonnatural amino acids into proteins is a useful technique to analyze protein structure and function. We have reported that amber suppressor tRNAs suitable for efficient and specific incorporation of nonnatural amino acids into proteins can be obtained by screening a wide variety of naturally occurring tRNAs in an E. coli. cell-free translation system. The amber suppressor activity of the tRNAs was evaluated by incorporation of a fluorescent nonnatural amino acid and fluorescent SDS-PAGE analysis of cell-free translation products, though the SDS-PAGE was troublesome and time-consuming. In this research, we developed an alternative method for the screening of amber suppressor tRNAs by real-time measurement of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from GFP to BODIPY558-linked nonnatural amino acid, which was incorporated into the N-terminus of GFP by amber suppressor tRNAs. Using this method, we demonstrated that the screening of the amber suppressor activity of various prokaryotic Trp tRNAs was performed in a high-throughput manner.

A new species of the cricket genus Proanaxipha Vickery & Poinar (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Pentacentrinae) from Early Miocene Dominican amber is described and illustrated. Proanaxipha madgesuttonaesp. n. is distinguished from congeners by: (1) head capsule bearing a distinctive posteriorly bilobed colour spot on the vertex; (2) presence of crossveins in the proximal part of the mediocubital area; (3) apical field of tegmen entirely dark; and (4) median process of epiphallus short. The poorly known Proanaxipha bicolorata Vickery & Poinar, of questionable affinity and status, is herein regarded as a nomen inquirendum.

The aim of this study was to provide evidence about the interaction between Baltic amber and daylight behind window glass, essential to understanding the mechanisms by which the material degrades in museum environments and to propose techniques for preventive conservation based on the control...... surface discolouration, oxidation of the molecular structure and breakdown of unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds in various environmental conditions, confirming the degrading role of daylight behind window glass. The conclusions of this study can be applied to the development of techniques for preventive...

The LiSrVO4:Sm3+ phosphor powders were synthesized by the combustion method by varying the concentration of the Sm3+ ions from 0.25 mol% to 2.5 mol%. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed that the phosphors were crystallized as monoclinic structure belonging to space group P2/m and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed nanosized grains of the powders. The Fourier transform infrared studies (FTIR) established the formation of non-hygroscopic vanadate powders. The photoluminescence (PL) and diffused reflectance studies (DRS) were also carried out and discussed. Under 401 nm excitation, the optimized phosphor exhibited the characteristic 568, 600, 646 and 704 nm emissions of Sm3+ which corresponded to the orange-red (amber) color with (0.59, 0.41) Commission Internationale de' Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates. Concentration quenching of phosphor intensity on account of non-radiative energy transfer was ascribed to dipole-dipole interaction between activators. DRS study reveals that the host of the phosphor is a wide bandgap material which accommodates the dopant successfully. The present results signify that the LiSrVO4:Sm3+ phosphor can suitably be excited by the GaN family of UV-LEDs chips for efficient amber LEDs applications.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Amber fossils can be used to trace the history of disease-vector associations because microorganisms are preserved "in situ" inside the alimentary tract and body cavity of blood-sucking insects. Results Lutzomyia adiketis sp. n. (Phlebotomidae: Diptera is described from Dominican amber as a vector of Paleoleishmania neotropicum sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae. The fossil sand fly differs from all previously described extinct and extant members of the genus by the following combination of characters: Sc forked with the branches meeting the costa and radius veins; wing L/W value of 4.1; a δ value of 18; a ratio β/α value of 0.86, and the shape and size of the spatulate rods on the ninth sternite. The trypanosomatid is characterized by the structure of its promastigotes, amastigotes and paramastigotes and its transmission by an extinct species of sand fly. Conclusion Morphological characters show that the fossil sand fly is a new extinct species and that it is host to a digenetic species of trypanosomatid. This study provides the first fossil evidence that Neotropical sand flies were vectors of trypanosomatids in the mid-Tertiary (20–30 mya.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Phlebotomine sandflies are the vectors of etiological agents of leishmaniases in several areas of the world. In the Neotropical Region, the biodiversity of these insects is more than other regions, probably due the long evolutionary period of this group. Miocene amber from Dominican Republic, currently, has a record of 14 extinct species of Phlebotomine sandflies. Results This paper describes a new fossil species of phlebotomine sandfly from amber found in Dominican Republic. This new species is based on morphological characters of a male such as 5° palpomere longer than 3° + 4°, three well-developed spines in the gonostyle, lateral lobe longer than gonocoxite and permit inclusion of the new species in the genus Pintomyia, series serrana. The paramere, with a curvature in the ventral margin, of the middle of the structure, separates the new species from the others fossils or extant species. Conclusion The new species described in the present study named Pintomyia dissimilis nov. sp. is well differenciated from all known species in this genus.

We present here the parmbsc0 force field, a refinement of the AMBER parm99 force field, where emphasis has been made on the correct representation of the α/γ concerted rotation in nucleic acids (NAs). The modified force field corrects overpopulations of the α/γ = (g+,t) backbone that were seen in long (more than 10 ns) simulations with previous AMBER parameter sets (parm94-99). The force field has been derived by fitting to high-level quantum mechanical data and verified by comparison with very high-level quantum mechanical calculations and by a very extensive comparison between simulations and experimental data. The set of validation simulations includes two of the longest trajectories published to date for the DNA duplex (200 ns each) and the largest variety of NA structures studied to date (15 different NA families and 97 individual structures). The total simulation time used to validate the force field includes near 1 μs of state-of-the-art molecular dynamics simulations in aqueous solution. PMID:17351000

During nonpermissive infection by a T7 amber mutant in gene 1 (phage RNA polymerase-deficient), synthesis of the products of the phage genes 3 (endonuclease), 3, 5 (lysozyme), 5 (DNA polymerase), and 17 (serum blocking power) was shown to occur at about half the rate as during wild-type infection...

Orchesia (Orchestera) canaliculata sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Eocene Baltic amber (Kaliningrad Region, Russia). New fossil records on O. turkini Alekseev & Bukejs and O. rasnitzyni Nikitsky are presented. A key to species of Orchesia Latreille, described from fossil resins, is provided.

We determine the internal quantum efficiency of strain-balanced AlGaN-InGaN-GaN hetero-structures designed for yellow-amber light emission, by using a recent model based on the kinetics of the photoluminescence decay initiated by Iwata et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 117, 075701 (2015)]. Our results indicate that low temperature internal quantum efficiencies sit in the 50% range and we measure that adding an AlGaN layer increases the internal quantum efficiency from 50% up to 57% with respect to the GaN-InGaN case. More dramatic, it almost doubles from 2.5% up to 4.3% at room temperature.

Full Text Available This paper describes a rare case of a male moth in Baltic amber in an excellent position for establishing a species. The moth represents the second species of the genus Baltimartyria Skalski, 1995, described herein as B. rasnitsyni sp. n. The detection of this new species prompts research on the systematic position of the genus within the family Micropterigidae. The genus was found to provide none of the apomorphic characters that would allow placement in one of the monophyletic lineages within the family. The genus is provisionally assigned to the “southern sabatincoid group”, a weakly supported assemblage of Southern Hemisphere genera. The sister genus has still to be determined. Baltimartyria is the first North Hemisphere representative in this group. Some general aspects of historical biogeography relevant for the group are briefly discussed.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the stability of epinephrine hydrochloride in 0.9% sodium chloride in polyvinyl chloride bags for up to 60 days. Methods: Dilutions of epinephrine hydrochloride to concentrations of 16 and 64 µg/mL were performed under aseptic conditions. The bags were then placed into ultraviolet light-blocking bags and stored at room temperature (23°C-25°C) or under refrigeration (3°C-5°C). Three samples of each preparation and storage environment were analyzed on days 0, 30, 45, and 60. Physical stability was performed by visual examination. The pH was assessed at baseline and upon final degradation evaluation. Sterility of the samples was not assessed. Chemical stability of epinephrine hydrochloride was evaluated using high-performance liquid chromatography. To determine the stability-indicating nature of the assay, degradation 12 months following preparation was evaluated. Samples were considered stable if there was less than 10% degradation of the initial concentration. Results: Epinephrine hydrochloride diluted to 16 and 64 µg/mL with 0.9% sodium chloride injection and stored in amber ultraviolet light-blocking bags was physically stable throughout the study. No precipitation was observed. At days 30 and 45, all bags had less than 10% degradation. At day 60, all refrigerated bags had less than 10% degradation. Overall, the mean concentration of all measurements demonstrated less than 10% degradation at 60 days at room temperature and under refrigeration. Conclusion: Epinephrine hydrochloride diluted to 16 and 64 µg/mL with 0.9% sodium chloride injection in polyvinyl chloride bags stored in amber ultraviolet light-blocking bags was stable up to 45 days at room temperature and up to 60 days under refrigeration.

Context. Betelgeuse is the closest red supergiant (RSG); therefore, it is well suited for studying the complex processes in its atmosphere that lead to the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium. Aims: We intend to investigate the shape and composition of the close molecular layer (also known as the MOLsphere) that surrounds the star. This analysis is part of a wider program that aims at understanding the dynamics of the circumstellar envelope of Betelgeuse. Methods: On January and February 2011, Betelgeuse was observed using the Astronomical Multi-BEam combineR (AMBER) instrument of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in the H and K bands. Using the medium spectral resolution of the instrument (R ~ 1500), we were able to investigate the carbon monoxide band heads and the water-vapor bands. We used two different approaches to analyse our data: a model fit in both the continuum and absorption lines and then a fit with a radiative hydrodynamics (RHD) simulation. Results: Using the continuum data, we derive a uniform disk diameter of 41.01 ± 0.41 mas, a power law type limb-darkened disk diameter of 42.28 ± 0.43 mas and a limb-darkening exponent of 0.155 ± 0.009. Within the absorption lines, using a single layer model, we obtain parameters of the MOLsphere. Using a RHD simulation, we unveil the convection pattern in the visibilities. Conclusions: We derived a new value of the angular diameter of Betelgeuse in the K band continuum. Our observations in the absorption lines are well reproduced by a molecular layer at 1.2 stellar radii containing both CO and H2O. The visibilities at higher spatial frequencies are matching a convection pattern in a RHD simulation. Based on AMBER observations made with ESO Telescopes at the Paranal Observatory under programmes ID 086.D-0351 and 286.D-5036(A).Table 1 is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Amber disease of the New Zealand grass grub Costelytra zealandica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is caused by ingestion of pADAP plasmid carrying isolates of Serratia entomophila or Serratia proteamaculans (Enterobacteriaceae) and causes infected larvae to cease feeding and clear their midgut to a pale amber colour where midgut serine protease activities are virtually eliminated. Using bacterial strains and mutants expressing combinations of the anti-feeding (afp) and gut clearance (sep) gene clusters from pADAP, we manipulated the disease phenotype and demonstrated directly the relationship between gene clusters, phenotype and loss of enzyme activity. Treatment with afp-expressing strains caused cessation of feeding without gut clearance where midgut protease activity was maintained at levels similar to that of healthy larvae. Treatment with strains expressing sep-genes caused gut clearance followed by a virtual elimination of trypsin and chymotrypsin titre in the midgut indicating both the loss of pre-existing enzyme from the lumen and a failure to replenish enzyme levels in this region by secretion from the epithelium. Monitoring of enzymatic activity through the alimentary tract during expression of disease showed that loss of serine protease activity in the midgut was matched by a surge of protease activity in the hindgut and frass pellets, indicating a flushing and elimination of the midgut contents. The blocking of enzyme secretion through amber disease appears to be selective as leucine aminopeptidase and alpha-amylase were still detected in the midgut of diseased larvae.

Full Text Available The kinetics of the extraction of the overall extracted materials (resinoids, total hypericine, hypericine and pseudohypericine from amber (Hypericum perforatum L. was investigated by the procedure of maceration both with and without ultra-sound, using methanol as the extractant. It was found that the period of fast extraction with intensification of the extraction of resinoid by ultra-sound was significantly shorter (about 20 minutes than was needed for the extraction without ultra-sound (about 5 h. Similar results were also obtained for the extraction of the other tested substances. It can be concluded that better drug exploitation can be achieved in a much shorter extraction time by intensification of the extraction using ultra-sound. By preparation of herbal material through pulverization, a significant grade of herbal tissue structure disintegration was achieved, so that turbulent mass transfer plays a dominant role in the extraction. The results show that the coefficient values of fast extraction (b are approximately the same for all the investigated kinetics.

Complex ethological adaptations and intraspecific interactions leave few fossil traces. We document three Dominican (20 million years old [myo]) and Baltic (45 myo) amber fossils that exhibit firm evidence of highly integrated interactions between mothers and offspring in the diverse camptosomate lineage of beetles (Chrysomelidae, leaf beetles). As in contemporary species, these hard cases were initially constructed by mothers, then inherited and retained by offspring, which then elaborate this protective domicile with an unusual but economical building material, their feces. The three fossils are classified in the Subfamily Cryptocephalinae; two are classified in the tribe Chlamisini based on morphological evidence-the flattened head lacking a sharp keel and long legs with simple recurved untoothed claws. These diagnostic features are not clearly visible in the third specimen to permit more refined identification. These fossils provide more precise paleontological dating of tribal nodes within the cryptocephaline radiation of leaf beetles. These fossils are the first and earliest evidence of mother-offspring interaction, building behavior, and fecal recycling in Camptosomata beetles and of inheritance of architectural structures in beetles.

Aims: The red giant L2 Pup started a dimming event in 1994, which is considered to be caused by the ejection of dust clouds. We present near-IR aperture-synthesis imaging of L2 Pup achieved by combining data from VLT/NACO and the AMBER instrument of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Our aim is to spatially resolve the innermost region of the circumstellar environment. Methods: We carried out speckle interferometric observations at 2.27 μm with VLT/NACO and long-baseline interferometric observations with VLTI/AMBER at 2.2-2.35 μm with baselines of 15-81 m. We also extracted an 8.7 μm image from the mid-IR VLTI instrument MIDI. Results: The diffraction-limited image obtained by bispectrum speckle interferometry with NACO with a spatial resolution of 57 mas shows an elongated component. The aperture-synthesis imaging combining the NACO speckle data and AMBER data with a spatial resolution of 5.6 × 7.3 mas further resolves not only this elongated component, but also the central star. The reconstructed image reveals that the elongated component is a nearly edge-on disk with a size of ~180 × 50 mas lying in the E-W direction, and furthermore, that the southern hemisphere of the central star is severely obscured by the equatorial dust lane of the disk. The angular size of the disk is consistent with the distance that the dust clouds that were ejected at the onset of the dimming event should have traveled by the time of our observations, if we assume that the dust clouds moved radially. This implies that the formation of the disk may be responsible for the dimming event. The 8.7 μm image with a spatial resolution of 220 mas extracted from the MIDI data taken in 2004 (seven years before the AMBER and NACO observations) shows an approximately spherical envelope without a signature of the disk. This suggests that the mass loss before the dimming event may have been spherical. Based on AMBER, NACO, and MIDI observations made with the Very Large Telescope

Full Text Available DNA-based divergence time estimates suggested major changes in the composition of epiphyte lineages of liverworts during the Cretaceous; however, evidence from the fossil record is scarce. We present the first Cretaceous fossil of the predominantly epiphytic leafy liverwort genus Radula in ca. 100 Myr old Burmese amber. The fossil's exquisite preservation allows first insights into the morphology of early crown group representatives of Radula occurring in gymnosperm-dominated forests. Ancestral character state reconstruction aligns the fossil with the crown group of Radula subg. Odontoradula; however, corresponding divergence time estimates using the software BEAST lead to unrealistically old age estimates. Alternatively, assignment of the fossil to the stem of subg. Odontoradula results in a stem age estimate of Radula of 227.8 Ma (95 % highest posterior density (HPD: 165.7–306.7 and a crown group estimate of 176.3 Ma (135.1–227.4, in agreement with analyses employing standard substitution rates (stem age 235.6 Ma (142.9–368.5, crown group age 183.8 Ma (109.9–289.1. The fossil likely belongs to the stem lineage of Radula subg. Odontoradula. The fossil's modern morphology suggests that switches from gymnosperm to angiosperm phorophytes occurred without changes in plant body plans in epiphytic liverworts. The fossil provides evidence for striking morphological homoplasy in time. Even conservative node assignments of the fossil support older rather than younger age estimates of the Radula crown group, involving origins for most extant subgenera by the end of the Cretaceous and diversification of their crown groups in the Cenozoic.

Studies of genetic variations in vitamin D-related pathways and breast cancer risk have been conducted mostly in populations of European ancestry, and only sparsely in African Americans (AA), who are known for a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. We analyzed 24,445 germline variants in 63 genes from vitamin D-related pathways in the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk (AMBER) consortium, including 3,663 breast cancer cases and 4,687 controls. Odds ratios (OR) were derived from logistic regression models for overall breast cancer, by estrogen receptor (ER) status (1,983 ER positive and 1,098 ER negative), and for case-only analyses of ER status. None of the three vitamin D-related pathways were associated with breast cancer risk overall or by ER status. Gene-level analyses identified associations with risk for several genes at a nominal p ≤ 0.05, particularly for ER− breast cancer, including rs4647707 in DDB2. In case-only analyses, vitamin D metabolism and signaling pathways were associated with ER− cancer (pathway-level p = 0.02), driven by a single gene CASR (gene-level p = 0.001). The top SNP in CASR was rs112594756 (p = 7 × 10−5, gene-wide corrected p = 0.01), followed by a second signal from a nearby SNP rs6799828 (p = 1 × 10−4, corrected p = 0.03). In summary, several variants in vitamin D pathways were associated with breast cancer risk in AA women. In addition, CASR may be related to tumor ER status, supporting a role of vitamin D or calcium in modifying breast cancer phenotypes. PMID:26650177

Within the three books studied Estrella Distante (1996), La pista de hielo (1993) et Amberes (2002) we show the underlying- evident presence, of the literary malediction myth. We read Bolaño’s works lightened by the literary modern myth of the damned poet. The evolution of Bolaño’s work reflects, since the beginning the central space this modern myth takes into his imaginary. One of the unchangeable topics in the three novels studied is heroism. This inalterable value of his damned characters...

Full Text Available Abstract Background Limited research has examined the association between physical activity, health-related fitness, and disease outcomes in breast cancer survivors. Here, we present the rationale and design of the Alberta Moving Beyond Breast Cancer (AMBER Study, a prospective cohort study designed specifically to examine the role of physical activity and health-related fitness in breast cancer survivorship from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life. The AMBER Study will examine the role of physical activity and health-related fitness in facilitating treatment completion, alleviating treatment side effects, hastening recovery after treatments, improving long term quality of life, and reducing the risks of disease recurrence, other chronic diseases, and premature death. Methods/Design The AMBER Study will enroll 1500 newly diagnosed, incident, stage I-IIIc breast cancer survivors in Alberta, Canada over a 5 year period. Assessments will be made at baseline (within 90 days of surgery, 1 year, and 3 years consisting of objective and self-reported measurements of physical activity, health-related fitness, blood collection, lymphedema, patient-reported outcomes, and determinants of physical activity. A final assessment at 5 years will measure patient-reported data only. The cohort members will be followed for an additional 5 years for disease outcomes. Discussion The AMBER cohort will answer key questions related to physical activity and health-related fitness in breast cancer survivors including: (1 the independent and interactive associations of physical activity and health-related fitness with disease outcomes (e.g., recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality, overall survival, treatment completion rates, symptoms and side effects (e.g., pain, lymphedema, fatigue, neuropathy, quality of life, and psychosocial functioning (e.g., anxiety, depression, self-esteem, happiness, (2 the determinants of physical activity and

A new genus and species of handsome fungus beetle, Glesirhanis bercioi gen. nov., sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Endomychidae: Leiestinae) is described from Baltic amber. The newly described genus is compared with all known extant and extinct genera of the subfamily. A key to the genera of Leiestinae including fossils and a checklist of fossil Endomychidae are provided. The status of two taxa previously placed in Endomychidae, Palaeoendomychus gymnus Zhang and Tetrameropsis mesozoica Kirejtshuk & Azar, is discussed, and a new status for the latter, elevating it to the family-level as Tetrameropseidae status nov., is proposed.

Aims: We present aperture-synthesis imaging of the red supergiant Antares (α Sco) in the CO first overtone lines. Our goal is to probe the structure and dynamics of the outer atmosphere. Methods: Antares was observed between 2.28 μm and 2.31 μm with VLTI/AMBER with spectral resolutions of up to 12 000 and angular resolutions as high as 7.2 mas at two epochs with a time interval of one year. Results: The reconstructed images in individual CO lines reveal that the star appears differently in the blue wing, line center, and red wing. In 2009, the images in the line center and red wing show an asymmetrically extended component, while the image in the blue wing shows little trace of it. In 2010, however, the extended component appears in the line center and blue wing, and the image in the red wing shows only a weak signature of the extended component. Our modeling of these AMBER data suggests that there is an outer atmosphere (MOLsphere) extending to 1.2-1.4 R⋆ with CO column densities of (0.5-1) × 1020 cm-2 and a temperature of ~2000 K. The CO line images observed in 2009 can be explained by a model in which a large patch or clump of CO gas is infalling at only 0-5 km s-1, while the CO gas in the remaining region is moving outward much faster at 20-30 km s-1. The images observed in 2010 suggest that a large clump of CO gas is moving outward at 0-5 km s-1, while the CO gas in the remaining region is infalling much faster at 20-30 km s-1. In contrast to the images in the CO lines, the AMBER data in the continuum show only a slight deviation from limb-darkened disks and only marginal time variations. We derive a limb-darkened disk diameter of 37.38 ± 0.06 mas and a power-law-type limb-darkening parameter of (8.7 ± 1.6) × 10-2 (2009) and 37.31 ± 0.09 mas and (1.5 ± 0.2) × 10-1 (2010). We also obtain an effective temperature of 3660 ± 120 K (the error includes the effects of the temporal flux variation that is assumed to be the same as Betelgeuse) and a

The first detailed systematic study on the tanytarsine chironomids recorded in the Eocene amber from the Rovno region (Ukraine) revealed seven new taxa. Archistempellina gen. nov., represented by A. bifurca sp. nov. (type for the genus, male) and A. falcifera sp. nov. (male), displays characters similar to those found in Stempellina Thienemann et Bause, and is recognized as one of probable basal lineages in the subtribe Stempellinina Shilova. Corneliola gen. nov., represented by C. avia sp. nov. (male, female), combines features known from several genera of the tribe Tanytarsini, and tentatively is regarded as the closest relative of Constempellina Brundin. Rheotanytarsus alliciens sp. nov. (male), featuring a long hypopygial digitus, is considered to be the oldest species of the genus. Tanytarsus congregabilis sp. nov. (male) is the first known Eocene representative of the lugens systematic species group. A complemented description of the male of Tanytarsus serafini Giłka is provided as well.

Despite the increasing rate of systematic research on scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), their fossil record has remained largely unrevised. In this paper, we review all 33 named scarabaeine fossils and describe two new species from Dominican amber (Canthochilum alleni sp.n., Canthochilum philipsivieorum sp.n.). We provide a catalogue of all fossil Scarabaeinae and evaluate their assignment to this subfamily, based primarily on the original descriptions but also, where possible, by examining the type specimens. We suggest that only 21 fossil taxa can be reliably assigned to the Scarabaeinae, while the remaining 14 should be treated as doubtful Scarabaeinae. The doubtful scarabaeines include the two oldest dung beetle fossils known from the Cretaceous and we suggest excluding them from any assessments of the minimum age of scarabaeine dung beetles. The earliest reliably described scarabaeine fossil appears to be Lobateuchus parisii, known from Oise amber (France), which shifts the minimum age of the Scarabaeinae to the Eocene (53 Ma). We scored the best-preserved fossils, namely Lobateuchus and the two Canthochilum species described herein, into the character matrix used in a recent morphology-based study of dung beetles, and then inferred their phylogenetic relationships with Bayesian and parsimony methods. All analyses yielded consistent phylogenies where the two fossil Canthochilum are placed in a clade with the extant species of Canthochilum, and Lobateuchus is recovered in a clade with the extant genera Ateuchus and Aphengium. Additionally, we evaluated the distribution of dung beetle fossils in the light of current global dung beetle phylogenetic hypotheses, geological time and biogeography. The presence of only extant genera in the late Oligocene and all later records suggests that the main present-day dung beetle lineages had already been established by the late Oligocene–mid Miocene. PMID:27547512

Despite the increasing rate of systematic research on scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), their fossil record has remained largely unrevised. In this paper, we review all 33 named scarabaeine fossils and describe two new species from Dominican amber (Canthochilum alleni sp.n., Canthochilum philipsivieorum sp.n.). We provide a catalogue of all fossil Scarabaeinae and evaluate their assignment to this subfamily, based primarily on the original descriptions but also, where possible, by examining the type specimens. We suggest that only 21 fossil taxa can be reliably assigned to the Scarabaeinae, while the remaining 14 should be treated as doubtful Scarabaeinae. The doubtful scarabaeines include the two oldest dung beetle fossils known from the Cretaceous and we suggest excluding them from any assessments of the minimum age of scarabaeine dung beetles. The earliest reliably described scarabaeine fossil appears to be Lobateuchus parisii, known from Oise amber (France), which shifts the minimum age of the Scarabaeinae to the Eocene (53 Ma). We scored the best-preserved fossils, namely Lobateuchus and the two Canthochilum species described herein, into the character matrix used in a recent morphology-based study of dung beetles, and then inferred their phylogenetic relationships with Bayesian and parsimony methods. All analyses yielded consistent phylogenies where the two fossil Canthochilum are placed in a clade with the extant species of Canthochilum, and Lobateuchus is recovered in a clade with the extant genera Ateuchus and Aphengium. Additionally, we evaluated the distribution of dung beetle fossils in the light of current global dung beetle phylogenetic hypotheses, geological time and biogeography. The presence of only extant genera in the late Oligocene and all later records suggests that the main present-day dung beetle lineages had already been established by the late Oligocene-mid Miocene.

Full Text Available Despite the increasing rate of systematic research on scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae, their fossil record has remained largely unrevised. In this paper, we review all 33 named scarabaeine fossils and describe two new species from Dominican amber (Canthochilum alleni sp.n., Canthochilum philipsivieorum sp.n.. We provide a catalogue of all fossil Scarabaeinae and evaluate their assignment to this subfamily, based primarily on the original descriptions but also, where possible, by examining the type specimens. We suggest that only 21 fossil taxa can be reliably assigned to the Scarabaeinae, while the remaining 14 should be treated as doubtful Scarabaeinae. The doubtful scarabaeines include the two oldest dung beetle fossils known from the Cretaceous and we suggest excluding them from any assessments of the minimum age of scarabaeine dung beetles. The earliest reliably described scarabaeine fossil appears to be Lobateuchus parisii, known from Oise amber (France, which shifts the minimum age of the Scarabaeinae to the Eocene (53 Ma. We scored the best-preserved fossils, namely Lobateuchus and the two Canthochilum species described herein, into the character matrix used in a recent morphology-based study of dung beetles, and then inferred their phylogenetic relationships with Bayesian and parsimony methods. All analyses yielded consistent phylogenies where the two fossil Canthochilum are placed in a clade with the extant species of Canthochilum, and Lobateuchus is recovered in a clade with the extant genera Ateuchus and Aphengium. Additionally, we evaluated the distribution of dung beetle fossils in the light of current global dung beetle phylogenetic hypotheses, geological time and biogeography. The presence of only extant genera in the late Oligocene and all later records suggests that the main present-day dung beetle lineages had already been established by the late Oligocene–mid Miocene.

Full Text Available The terpenoid composition of seven amber samples from Araripe Basin (Santana Formation, Crato Member has been analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine their botanical origin. The diterpenoids, which have been identified in the fossil resin extracts are derived primarily from the abietane class, e.g., dehydroabietane, 4-epidehydroabietol, 16,17,18-trisnorabieta-8,11,13-triene, 7-oxo-16,17,19-trisnorabieta-8,11,13-trieno, dehydroabietic acid, ferruginol, hinokiol and hinokione. Their composition is certainly typical for conifers, and angiosperms can be excluded as the botanical source, as no triterpene was identified. The terpenoid characteristics strongly support a relationship to the Araucariaceae or Podocarpaceae families. In addition, the fossil record of the embedding sediments (pollen and fossil leaves also supports the proposal of these paleobotanical origins for the ambers.

In this paper, we describe the derivation and the validation of original RESP atomic partial charges for the N, N-dimethyl-dodecylamine oxide (LDAO) surfactant. These charges, designed to be fully compatible with all the AMBER force fields, are at first tested against molecular dynamics simulations of pure LDAO micelles and with a fragment of the lipid kinase PIK4A (DI) modeled with the QUARK molecular modeling server. To model the micelle, we used two distinct AMBER force fields (i.e. Amber99SB and Lipid14) and a variety of starting conditions. We find that the micelle structural properties (such as the shape, size, the LDAO headgroup hydration, and alkyl chain conformation) slightly depend on the force field but not on the starting conditions and more importantly are in good agreement with experiments and previous simulations. We also show that the Lipid14 force field should be used instead of the Amber99SB one to better reproduce the C(sp3)C(sp3)C(sp3)C(sp3) conformation in the surfactant alkyl chain. Concerning the simulations with LDAO-DI protein, we carried out different runs at two NaCl concentrations (i.e. 0 and 300 mM) to mimic, in the latter case, the experimental conditions. We notice a small dependence of the simulation results with the LDAO parameters and the salt concentration. However, we find that in the simulations, three out of four tryptophans of the DI protein are not accessible to water in agreement with our fluorescence spectroscopy experiments reported in the paper.

We present high-spatial and high-spectral resolution observations of the red supergiant Betelgeuse in the CO first overtone lines near 2.3μm with the AMBER instrument at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Our AMBER observations in 2008 spatially resolved the gas motions in a stellar atmosphere (photosphere and extended molecular outer atmosphere) for the first time other than the Sun. From our second observations one year later, we have reconstructed 1-D images in the individual CO lines with an angular resolution of 9.8 mas and a spectral resolution of 6000 by applying the self-calibration technique to restore the Fourier phase from the differential phase measurements. The reconstructed 1-D images reveal that the star appears different in the blue and red wing of the individual CO lines. In the blue wing, the star shows a pronounced, asymmetrically extended component at least up to 1.3 R⋆, while such a component does not appear in the red wing 1-D image. This can be explained by a model in which the CO gas patch (or clump) more than half as large as the star is moving slightly outward with 0-5 km s-1, while the gas in the remaining region is infalling fast with 20-30 km s-1. Comparison between the CO line data taken in 2008 and 2009 shows a significant time variation in the dynamics of the photosphere and outer atmosphere. However, the 1-D images in the continuum show only a slight deviation from a limb-darkened disk with an angular diameter of 42.49±0.06 mas, which leads to an effective temperature of 3690± 54 K. Moreover, the continuum data taken in 2008 and 2009 reveal no or only marginal time variations, much smaller than the maximum variation predicted by the current 3-D convection simulation. The derived continuum diameter also shows that the near-IR size of Betelgeuse has been nearly constant over the last 18 years, in marked contrast to the recently reported noticeable decrease in the mid-IR size.

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a widely used fluorescent biomarker for the study of biological systems. Our investigation is focused on providing a reliable theoretical description of the GFP chromophore, the photochemical properties of which can be influenced through both the surrounding protein environment and pH levels. In this work we are specifically addressing the effect of an aqueous solvation environment , where a number of experimental measurements have been performed. Our approach is based on a combined quantum mechanics molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methodology, which incorporates high level coupled cluster theory for the analysis of excited states. It also presents the first application of the newly developed NWChem/AMBER QM/MM interface. Using a systematic approach, which involves comparison of gas phase and aqueous results for different protonation states and conformations, we have resolved existing uncertainties regarding theoretical interpretation of the experimental data. We observe that the impact of aqueous environment on charged states generally results in blue shifts, but the magnitude of the effect is sensitive to charge state and conformation and can be rationalized based on charge movement into the area of higher/lower external electrostatic potentials. At neutral pH levels the experimentally observed absorption signal is most likely coming from the phenol protonated form. Our results also show that the high level coupled description is essential for proper description of excited states of GFP.

A sustained epidemic of cardiovascular disease and related risk factors is a global phenomenon contributing significantly to premature deaths and costly morbidity. Preventative strategies across the full continuum of life, from a population to individual perspective, are not optimally applied. This paper describes a simple and adaptable 'traffic-light' system we have developed to systematically perform individual risk and need delineation in order to 'titrate' the intensity and frequency of healthcare intervention in a cost-effective manner. The GARDIAN (Green Amber Red Delineation of Risk and Need) system is an individual assessment of risk and need that modulates the frequency and intensity of future healthcare intervention. Individual assessment of risk and need for ongoing intervention and support is determined with reference to three domains: (1) clinical stability, (2) gold-standard management, and (3) a broader, holistic assessment of individual circumstance. This can be applied from a primary prevention, secondary prevention, or chronic disease management perspective. Our experience with applying and validating GARDIAN to titrate healthcare resources according to need has been extensive to date, with >5000 individuals profiled in a host of clinical settings. A series of clinical randomized trials will determine the impact of the GARDIAN system on important indices of healthcare utilization and health status. The GARDIAN model to delineating risk and need for varied intensity of management shows strong potential to cost effectively improve health outcomes for both individuals at risk of heart disease and those with established heart disease.

The issue of the creation and location of new museums is a current topic. The decision of where and how to create new museum facilities will impact successful function in the future. Museums are either located in newly designed buildings or in existing buildings. In general, existing buildings adapted for museum use are either formally under conservational protection or not. With regard to museum location in preserved monuments, the author notes that the true impact on authentic monumental building structure still needs intense research. The adaptation of the Great Mill and St. Catherine’s Church - two preserved medieval objects located in the historical city center of Gdansk - provide case studies to investigate positive and negative aspects. In both cases, the author carried out architectural projects for the functional purposes of museums: The New Amber Museum and Museum of Science. The author concludes that mutual benefits of adaptation result from: the financial means of the museum institution to invest long-term; the institutional respect of the museum towards heritage, which translates into respect for conservational protection; and the competitive advantage created by the monumental features of the building and the privileged location in a well-established, branded space. Negative aspects result from: space limitations of monuments that disable the museum from extending its exposition and thus prevent institutional development; the overly restrictive requirements of restoration that take priority over the museum mission; and the lack of technically functional space required for contemporary museum technologies, which forces unconventional engineering solutions that are more expensive than the location of the museum in a newly constructed building.

The answer of the dosimetric systems is affected by several factors, for what should know as these factors they influence in each one of the different dosimetric systems and by this way to minimize its effect in the value of the absorbed dose and to obtain exact dose values. One of the dosimetric systems more used in the high dose dosimetry like routine dosemeter for the control of the irradiation process are the Perspex dosemeters, for their speed in the obtaining the information, their easy manipulation and the precision that they present. To this dosemeters group they belong the same as the Red and Clear the Amber, which are adequate for the measurement of the radiation dose in the range of high doses. The objective of the present work is to obtain the calibration curves of the dosemeters Amber Perspex 3042, Lot L under our work conditions, like they are the irradiation temperatures and of storage and to know the influence of the rate dose in the value of the absorbed dose for different measurement wavelengths, as well as, the relationship among the one post-irradiation time and the specific absorbance value induced in function of the absorbed dose. (Author)

Full Text Available In the eighth and final volume of the Antwerp Polyglot Arias Montano published a short text titled De Psalterii Anglicani Exemplari Animaduersio. In his defense of the Hebrew original of the Old Testament, Montano set out to warn the reader that some of the more esteemed manuscripts by the so-called Hebrew-haters of his time were of little value. For this purpose, Arias Montano examined a Hebrew manuscript of the Psalter considered to be of particular antiquity and significance by the powerful bishop Wilhelm D. Lindanus, and concluded that it was in fact recent and quite worthless in many aspects, thereby fiercely attacking the latter’s scholarly reputation. This attack, based in part on a false accusation, was the beginning of a scholarly controversy lasting over fifteen years. The present essay calls attention to the fact that two versions of the Animaduersio, very different from each other, can be found in surviving copies of the Polyglot Bible. In order to illuminate the circumstances that led to these versions, the author proposes a threefold goal: (1 to gather the Latin text and the Spanish translation of the two versions of the Animaduersio; (2 to examine the reasons why Arias Montano rewrote his text in the light of the private correspondence of both scholars; (3 and to propose an approximate date for each of the versions.En el octavo y último volumen de la Biblia Regia de Amberes Benito Arias Montano publicaba un breve texto titulado De Psalterii Anglicani exemplari animaduersio. En el marco de su defensa del original hebreo del Antiguo Testamento, su autor consideraba necesario advertir al lector de que algunos de los manuscritos más apreciados por los llamados «misohebreos» de su tiempo carecían de todo valor. Para ello, Arias Montano examinó un manuscrito hebreo del salterio elogiado como muy antiguo y relevante por el poderoso obispo Guillermo D. Lindano, y concluía que el códice era reciente y de escaso valor, cargando de

Two new species of the parasitic wasp genus Mesocentrus Szépligeti (Betylobraconinae) are described. One based on a new species from Papua New Guinea, the other the first Palaearctic member of the subfamily based on a 30+ mya, species from Baltic amber. The second species is illustrated using synchrotron X-ray microtomography. Whereas the extant Betylobraconinae are restricted to Australia, New Guinea and New Caledonia, their ancestral distribution is now known to have extended considerably further. A key to the four species of Mesocentrus known from Papua New Guinea is provided. Both species possess some putatively plesiomorphic characters absent in other extant Mesocentrus spp. The new extant species differs in having a considerably larger number of antennal segments and a less laterally depressed frons, while the extinct one has the clypeus separated from the face dorsally and strongly developed hypoclypeal depression. Availability of sequence data for this species enabled further analysis of the relationships of the subfamily, which we present in a phylogenetic analysis additionally including the release of a number of new sequences of related taxa.

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to bring to light the origin, chronology and possible contents of a treatise by Arias Montano, partially lost until today. That treatise was the culmination of the long and fierce controversy that Arias Montano and Wilhem van der Lindt were involved in the last quarter of the 16th Century in the context of the polemics between supporters and detractors of the Hebrew original text of the Bible. Yet the main cause of this scientific enmity was a defamatory writing against Lindano published by Arias Montano in the Polyglot Bible of Antwerp. Taking as a starting point Arias Montano’s and Lindano’s Latin correspondence we will try to reconstruct a non-well-known story of complaints and retractions between two theologians whose ultimate goal is to preserve their own fame.

We study the impact of quantum-confined stark effect (QCSE) on bias dependent micro-photoluminescence emission of the quantum disk (Q-disk) based nanowires light emitting diodes (NWs-LED) exhibiting the amber colored emission. The NWs are found to be nitrogen polar (N-polar) verified using KOH wet chemical etching and valence band spectrum analysis of high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The crystal structure and quality of the NWs were investigated by high-angle annular dark field - scanning transmission electron microscopy. The LEDs were fabricated to acquire the bias dependent micro-photoluminescence spectra. We observe a redshift and a blueshift of the μPL peak in the forward and reverse bias conditions, respectively, with reference to zero bias, which is in contrast to the metal-polar InGaN well-based LEDs in the literature. Such opposite shifts of μPL peak emission observed for N-polar NWs-LEDs, in our study, are due to the change in the direction of the internal piezoelectric field. The quenching of PL intensity, under the reverse bias conditions, is ascribed to the reduction of electron-hole overlap. Furthermore, the blueshift of μPL emission with increasing excitation power reveals the suppression of QCSE resulting from the photo-generated carriers. Thereby, our study confirms the presence of QCSE for NWs-LEDs from both bias and power dependent μPL measurements. Thus, this study serves to understand the QCSE in N-polar InGaN Q-disk NWs-LEDs and other related wide-bandgap nitride nanowires, in general.

Expanded genetic code approaches are a powerful means to add new and useful chemistry to proteins at defined residues positions. One such use is the introduction of non-biological reactive chemical handles for site-specific biocompatible orthogonal conjugation of proteins. Due to our currently limited information on the impact of non-canonical amino acids (nAAs) on the protein structure-function relationship, rational protein engineering is a "hit and miss" approach to selecting suitable sites. Furthermore, dogma suggests surface exposed native residues should be the primary focus for introducing new conjugation chemistry. Here we describe a directed evolution approach to introduce and select for in-frame codon replacement to facilitate engineering proteins with nAAs. To demonstrate the approach, the commonly reprogrammed amber stop codon (TAG) was randomly introduced in-frame in two different proteins: the bionanotechnologically important cyt b(562) and therapeutic protein KGF. The target protein is linked at the gene level to sfGFP via a TEV protease site. In absence of a nAA, an in-frame TAG will terminate translation resulting in a non-fluorescent cell phenotype. In the presence of a nAA, TAG will encode for nAA incorporation so instilling a green fluorescence phenotype on E. coli. The presence of endogenously expressed TEV proteases separates in vivo target protein from its fusion to sfGFP if expressed as a soluble fusion product. Using this approach, we incorporated an azide reactive handle and identified residue positions amenable to conjugation with a fluorescence dye via strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC). Interestingly, best positions for efficient conjugation via SPAAC were residues whose native side chain were buried through analysis of their determined 3D structures and thus may not have been chosen through rational protein engineering. Molecular modeling suggests these buried native residues could become partially exposed on

We study the impact of quantum-confined stark effect (QCSE) on bias dependent micro-photoluminescence emission of the quantum disk (Q-disk) based nanowires light emitting diodes (NWs-LED) exhibiting the amber colored emission. The NWs are found to be nitrogen polar (N-polar) verified using KOH wet chemical etching and valence band spectrum analysis of high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The crystal structure and quality of the NWs were investigated by high-angle annular dark field - scanning transmission electron microscopy. The LEDs were fabricated to acquire the bias dependent micro-photoluminescence spectra. We observe a redshift and a blueshift of the μPL peak in the forward and reverse bias conditions, respectively, with reference to zero bias, which is in contrast to the metal-polar InGaN well-based LEDs in the literature. Such opposite shifts of μPL peak emission observed for N-polar NWs-LEDs, in our study, are due to the change in the direction of the internal piezoelectric field. The quenching of PL intensity, under the reverse bias conditions, is ascribed to the reduction of electron-hole overlap. Furthermore, the blueshift of μPL emission with increasing excitation power reveals the suppression of QCSE resulting from the photo-generated carriers. Thereby, our study confirms the presence of QCSE for NWs-LEDs from both bias and power dependent μPL measurements. Thus, this study serves to understand the QCSE in N-polar InGaN Q-disk NWs-LEDs and other related wide-bandgap nitride nanowires, in general.

The Stenkul Fiord section on southern Ellesmere Island reveals largely fluvial clastic sediments with intercalated coal seams of the Margaret Formation of Late Paleocene/Early Eocene age according to palynology and vertebrate remains. Field studies in recent years and interpretative mapping of a high-resolution satellite image of the area southeast of Stenkul Fiord revealed that the clastic deposits consist of at least four sedimentary units (Units 1 to 4) separated by unconformities. Several centimeter-thin volcanic ash layers, recognized within coal layers and preserved as crandallite group minerals (Ca-bearing goyazite), suggest an intense volcanic ash fall activity. Based on new U-Pb zircon ages (ID-TIMS) of three ash layers, the volcanic ash fall took place at 53.7 Ma in the Early Eocene, i.e. within the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM-2) hyperthermal. The ETM-2 is bracketed further by discrete negative excursions of carbon isotope records of both bulk coal and amber droplets collected from individual coal layers of the section. The identification of the ETM-2 hyperthermal provides a stratigraphic tie-point in the terrestrial Margaret Formation sediments enabling assignment of the lowermost sedimentary Unit 1 to the Late Paleocene-earliest Eocene, Unit 2 to the Early Eocene, whereas Unit 3 and 4 might be Early to Middle Eocene in age. Thus the timing of syn-sedimentary movements of the Eurekan deformation causal for the observed unconformities in the section can be studied and the positions of further hyperthermals like the PETM or the ETM-3 in the section can be identified in the future. The integration of structural studies, new U-Pb zircon ages, and different carbon isotope records provides a new stratigraphic framework for further examination of the unique Early Eocene flora and fauna preserved in this high-latitude outcrop.

Full Text Available Expanded genetic code approaches are a powerful means to add new and useful chemistry to proteins at defined residues positions. One such use is the introduction of non-biological reactive chemical handles for site-specific biocompatible orthogonal conjugation of proteins. Due to our currently limited information on the impact of non-canonical amino acids (nAAs on the protein structure-function relationship, rational protein engineering is a "hit and miss" approach to selecting suitable sites. Furthermore, dogma suggests surface exposed native residues should be the primary focus for introducing new conjugation chemistry. Here we describe a directed evolution approach to introduce and select for in-frame codon replacement to facilitate engineering proteins with nAAs. To demonstrate the approach, the commonly reprogrammed amber stop codon (TAG was randomly introduced in-frame in two different proteins: the bionanotechnologically important cyt b(562 and therapeutic protein KGF. The target protein is linked at the gene level to sfGFP via a TEV protease site. In absence of a nAA, an in-frame TAG will terminate translation resulting in a non-fluorescent cell phenotype. In the presence of a nAA, TAG will encode for nAA incorporation so instilling a green fluorescence phenotype on E. coli. The presence of endogenously expressed TEV proteases separates in vivo target protein from its fusion to sfGFP if expressed as a soluble fusion product. Using this approach, we incorporated an azide reactive handle and identified residue positions amenable to conjugation with a fluorescence dye via strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC. Interestingly, best positions for efficient conjugation via SPAAC were residues whose native side chain were buried through analysis of their determined 3D structures and thus may not have been chosen through rational protein engineering. Molecular modeling suggests these buried native residues could become partially

Context. The mass loss from massive stars is not understood well. η Carinae is a unique object for studying the massive stellar wind during the luminous blue variable phase. It is also an eccentric binary with a period of 5.54 yr. The nature of both stars is uncertain, although we know from X-ray studies that there is a wind-wind collision whose properties change with orbital phase. Aims: We want to investigate the structure and kinematics of η Car's primary star wind and wind-wind collision zone with a high spatial resolution of ~6 mas (~14 au) and high spectral resolution of R = 12 000. Methods: Observations of η Car were carried out with the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and the AMBER instrument between approximately five and seven months before the August 2014 periastron passage. Velocity-resolved aperture-synthesis images were reconstructed from the spectrally dispersed interferograms. Interferometric studies can provide information on the binary orbit, the primary wind, and the wind collision. Results: We present velocity-resolved aperture-synthesis images reconstructed in more than 100 different spectral channels distributed across the Brγ 2.166 μm emission line. The intensity distribution of the images strongly depends on wavelength. At wavelengths corresponding to radial velocities of approximately -140 to - 376 km s-1 measured relative to line center, the intensity distribution has a fan-shaped structure. At the velocity of - 277 km s-1, the position angle of the symmetry axis of the fan is ~126°. The fan-shaped structure extends approximately 8.0 mas (~18.8 au) to the southeast and 5.8 mas (~13.6 au) to the northwest, measured along the symmetry axis at the 16% intensity contour. The shape of the intensity distributions suggests that the obtained images are the first direct images of the innermost wind-wind collision zone. Therefore, the observations provide velocity-dependent image structures that can be used to test three

The mass loss from massive stars is not understood well. Eta Carinae is a unique object for studying the massive stellar wind during the luminous blue variable phase. It is also an eccentric binary with a period of 5.54 yr. The nature of both stars is uncertain, although we know from X-ray studies that there is a wind-wind collision whose properties change with orbital phase. Aims. We want to investigate the structure and kinematics of Car's primary star wind and wind-wind collision zone with a high spatial resolution of approx.6 mas (approx.14 au) and high spectral resolution of R = 12 000. Methods. Observations of Car were carried out with the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and the AMBER instrument between approximately five and seven months before the August 2014 periastron passage. Velocity-resolved aperture-synthesis images were reconstructed from the spectrally dispersed interferograms. Interferometric studies can provide information on the binary orbit, the primary wind, and the wind collision. Results. We present velocity-resolved aperture-synthesis images reconstructed in more than 100 di erent spectral channels distributed across the Br(gamma) 2.166 micron emission line. The intensity distribution of the images strongly depends on wavelength. At wavelengths corresponding to radial velocities of approximately -140 to -376 km/s measured relative to line center, the intensity distribution has a fan-shaped structure. At the velocity of -277 km/s, the position angle of the symmetry axis of the fan is 126. The fan-shaped structure extends approximately 8.0 mas (approx.18:8 au) to the southeast and 5.8 mas (approx.13:6 au) to the northwest, measured along the symmetry axis at the 16% intensity contour. The shape of the intensity distributions suggests that the obtained images are the first direct images of the innermost wind-wind collision zone. Therefore, the observations provide velocity-dependent image structures that can be used to test three

The originally published version of this Article was updated shortly after publication to add the word 'Ticks' to the title, following its inadvertent removal during the production process. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

We present multi-instrument and multi-wavelength observations of the famous LBV star Pistol Star. These observations are part of a larger program on early O stars at different metallicities. The Pistol Star has been claimed to be one of the most massive star known, with 250 solar masses. We present

Nonnative invasive insects are having major impacts on the economics and ecology of forests nationwide. Until recently, Alaska was fortunately mostly free of these pests. Because of the remoteness of much of Alaska's native forests, an invasive pest infestation would be extremely difficult to control. Global markets, global climate change, and the ever-increasing...

An X-band Digital Array Synthetic Aperture Radar for a Short Range Tactical UAV is presented. This system is demonstrated on a manned helicopter and motor glider. The Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave radar principle in combination with digital beam forming over 24 receive channels is used to meet

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the histological and histochemical structure of the Harderian gland in wild and hybrid of wild and domestic birds. The samples were stained with haematoxylin-eosin, methyl green-pyronin Y, periodic acid-Schiff, alcian blue pH 2.5, aldehyde fuchsin and Hale's dialyzed iron staining's. In both species, the glands had multilobar tubuloacinar structure type I. The Harderian gland was located in the orbit near the inter-orbital septum, between the medial rectus muscle, the pyramidal muscle of the third eyelid, and the ventral oblique muscle. In the common pheasant, the gland was wider in the proximal and distal part. The common pheasant had more elongated lobes of the Harderian gland than in the hybrid. In the common pheasant, the glandular cells presented darkly-stained serous secretion and lightly-stained mucous secretion. In the hybrid, the glandular cells presented seromucous secretion. The central lobar space, interacinar space, and apical parts of the acini of the Harderian glands were filled with many lymphocytes and plasma cells, particularly in the common pheasant, where centers of all large lobes were abundantly filled with plasma cells. The plasma cells dominated in common pheasant's Harderian gland, while in the hybrid, lymphocytes and plasma cells were present at similar quantities. The cells positive for periodic acid of Schiff staining were dominant in hybrid. Periodic acid-Schiff, Hale's dialyzed iron and alcian blue pH 2.5 stainings demonstrated acid-carboxylated mucopolysaccharides in the glandular cells cytoplasm of the examined birds.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a life-long condition primarily affecting younger adults. Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) occurs in 50-80% of these patients and is the term used to describe constipation and faecal incontinence, which often co-exist. Data from a pilot study suggested feasibility of using abdominal massage for the relief of constipation, but the effectiveness remains uncertain. This is a multi-centred patient randomised superiority trial comparing an experimental strategy of once daily abdominal massage for 6 weeks against a control strategy of no massage in people with MS who have stated that their constipation is bothersome. The primary outcome is the Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction Score at 24 weeks. Both groups will receive optimised advice plus the MS Society booklet on bowel management in MS, and will continue to receive usual care. Participants and their clinicians will not be blinded to the allocated intervention. Outcome measures are primarily self-reported and submitted anonymously. Central trial staff who will manage and analyse the trial data will be unaware of participant allocations. Analysis will follow intention-to-treat principles. This pragmatic randomised controlled trial will demonstrate if abdominal massage is an effective, cost-effective and viable addition to the treatment of NBD in people with MS. ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN85007023 . Registered on 10 June 2014.

This paper explores incongruities between patents and regulation as applied to the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Research, development and marketing of a new pharmaceutical agent generally requires large, high-risk investments. The time and expense of conducting clinical trials to obtain pre-market approval from the Food and Drug Administration provides an additional barrier to entry. The patent system stimulates such investment by providing a legal barrier to appropriation of these investments by free-riders and increasing the likelihood of capital return on these investments. These two barriers are intertwined. For the most part, firms only attempt to clear the regulatory barrier when patent protection is certain. As a result of the uniquely challenging economic situation presented by the regulatory barrier, a common line of reasoning in patent policy and jurisprudence, that inventions which are barred from patenting benefit the public, is flawed. To the contrary, the patent/regulatory system forever traps pharmaceutical inventions, once placed in the public domain. Pharmaceutical companies cannot afford to invest the resources needed to clear the regulatory barrier if the investment is quickly appropriated by a free-riding manufacturer. Various implications of, and solutions to, this policy artifact are explored.

In this contribution, we provide a complementary description of the re-discovered lectotype of Siphloplecton macrops (Pictet-Baraban & Hagen, 1856). Additionally, complementary descriptions of S. barabani Staniczek & Godunko, 2012 and S. picteti Staniczek & Godunko, 2012 based on new material are given. Two new species, S. sartorii sp. nov. and S. gattolliati sp. nov., are described from male imagines and attributed to two newly defined species groups within Siphloplecton.

A Supreme Court ruling is presented regarding the provision of clean intermittent catheterization as part of related services mandated under P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The case argued focused on the needs of a young girl with spina bifida for intermittent catheterization to remove urine from her bladder. The court…

Health benefits including antioxidant potential of black tea (Camellia sinensis), lemon (Citrus limon) and honey bees (Apis mellifera) have been extensively reported. Nevertheless, nothing is reported about the effects of their concomitant use. Herein, those effects were evaluated in infusions of lemon-flavoured black tea with three different kinds of honey (light amber, amber and dark amber) from Lavandula stoechas, Erica sp. pl. and other indigenous floral species from north-east Portugal, a region with high amounts of this food product. Data obtained showed that the use of honey (dark amber>amber>light amber) potentiates the antioxidant activity of lemon-flavoured black tea, increasing the reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition properties, as also the antioxidant contents such as phenolics, flavonoids and organic acids including ascorbic acid.

Health benefits including antioxidant potential of black tea (Camellia sinensis), lemon (Citrus limon) and honey bees (Apis mellifera) have been extensively reported. Nevertheless, nothing is reported about the effects of their concomitant use. Herein, those effects were evaluated in infusions of lemon-flavoured black tea with three different kinds of honey (light amber, amber and dark amber) from Lavandula stoechas, Erica sp. pl. and other indigenous floral species from north-east Portugal, ...

Flint and amber artefacts from Dutch Funnelbeaker (3400-2900 cal BC) megaliths were examined from a biographical perspective, also involving microwear analysis. It is shown that both flint and amber contributed to the materiality of Funnelbeaker burial practices, which above all stressed the

... Goshute Reservation, and Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) developed a Least Chub... Sigler 1987, p. 182). The fins are lemon-amber, and sometimes the paired fins are bright golden-amber... processes, including food availability, genetically based traits, population density, and water temperatures...

A method for preparing reversible-photochromic magnesium oxide (MgO) crystals. Single crystals of MgO doped with both lithium (Li) and nickel (Ni) are grown by a conventional arc fusion method. The as-grown crystals are characterized by an amber coloration. The crystals lose the amber coloration and become photochromic when they are thermochemically reduced by heating at temperatures greater than 1000.degree. K. in a hydrogen atmosphere. Alternate irradiation with UV and visible light result in rejuvenation and bleaching of the amber coloration, respectively.

mutants within P22 early regions. P22 amber mutants: both am24 for early regulatory gene and a23 for late regulatory gene and am7 f endolysin gene were...regulatory gene and am23 for late regulatory genes, and am7 r5 I -I for endolysin gene were complemented by x and 080 phages. However, aml2 for control...P22 amber mutants in genes 23 and 7 ( endolysin ) grow on these lysogens. The same concentration of this P22 amber mutant did not produce any sign of

Black Beauty', 'Black Amber' and 'Fortune'] uniform of shape, color and size and free from visual symptoms of any disease or blemishes were harvested at the ...... induced oxidative stress in maize seedlings subjected to salt stress. Scientia ...

The current state of the art of in silico drug discovery or computer aided drug discovery relies almost exclusively on molecular mechanics force fields, such as AMBER and CHARMM, and empirical potentials...

The long-term stability of the radiation response of Harwell Red 4034 and Amber 3042 Perspex Dosimeters has been monitored for more than 15 years, and the resulting data used in the justification of their shelf-life specifications

Amber is one of the few gemstones based on an organic structure. Found over most of the world, it is the fossil form of sticky plant exudates called resins. Investigation of amber by modern analytical techniques provides structural information and insight into the identity of the ancient plants that produced the source resin. Mass spectrometric analysis of materials separated by gas chromatography has identified specific compounds that are the basis of a reliable classification of the different types of amber. NMR spectroscopy of bulk, solid amber provides a complementary classification. NMR spectroscopy also can be used to characterize modern resins as well as other types of plant exudates such as gums, gum resins, and kinos, which strongly resemble resins in appearance but have very different molecular constitutions.

Sixteen conditional lethal mutants of bacteriophage T4D have been isolated which grow on Escherichia coli CR63 (a su/sup +/ streptomycin-sensitive K12 strain) but are restricted by CR/s (a streptomycin-resistant derivative of CR63). These mutants have been given the prefix str. Four of these mutants are amber and 12 appear to be missense. Eleven of the 12 missense mutants appear to be ''pseudo-amber'' (i.e., they are restricted by a su/sup -/ E. coli B strain but not by a su/sup -/ K12 strain); the other missense mutant was not restricted by either B or K12. The str mutations mapped in 12 different genes. Most were clustered in a region of early genes (gene 56 to gene 47). Fifty-eight amber and 10 ''pseudo-amber'' mutants isolated previously for their inability to grow on E. coli B were tested for restriction by CR/s. All the amber mutants grew normally on CR/s, whereas all 10 ''pseudo-amber'' mutants were restricted by CR/s. This implies that the phenotype of the ''pseudo-amber'' mutants is the result of a ribosomal difference between the permissive host CR63 and the restrictive hosts B and CR/s. These str mutants should prove to be useful alternatives to amber mutants for genetic and biochemical studies of bacteriophage T4 and for studies of the E. coli ribosome. It should be possible to isolate similar mutants in other bacteriophages provided that streptomycin resistant hosts are available.

Under conditions where the reversion of an amber mutant of bacteriophage lambda by γ-rays is enhanced by subjecting the irradiated phage to SOS repair, γ-ray-induced reversion of two T7 ambers is not influenced by this error-prone bacterial repair system. The survival of T7 γ-irradiated under anoxic conditions is somewhat enhanced by SOS repair, whereas the survival of phage irradiated under oxygen is not affected. (orig.)

Full Text Available Pseudoscorpions, given their resemblance to scorpions, have attracted human attention since the time of Aristotle, although they are much smaller and lack the sting and elongated tail. These arachnids have a long evolutionary history but their origins and phylogenetic affinities are still being debated. Here, we summarise their fossil record based on a comprehensive review of the literature and data contained in other sources. Pseudoscorpions are one of the oldest colonisers of the land, with fossils known since the Middle Devonian (ca. 390 Ma. The only arachnid orders with an older fossil record are scorpions, harvestmen and acariform mites, plus two extinct groups. Pseudoscorpions do not fossilise easily, and records from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic consist almost exclusively of amber inclusions. Most Mesozoic fossils come from Archingeay and Burmese ambers (Late Cretaceous and those from the Cenozoic are primarily from Eocene Baltic amber, although additional fossils from, for example, Miocene Dominican and Mexican ambers, are known. Overall, 16 of the 26 families of living pseudoscorpions have been documented from fossils and 49 currently valid species are recognised in the literature. Pseudoscorpions represent a case of morphological stasis and even the Devonian fossils look rather modern. Indeed, most amber fossils are comparable to Recent groups despite a major gap in the fossil record of almost 250 Myr. Baltic amber inclusions indicate palaeofauna inhabiting much warmer climates than today and point to climatic shifts in central Europe since the Eocene. They also indicate that some groups (e.g. Feaellidae and Pseudogarypidae had much wider Eocene distributions. Their present-day occurrence is relictual and highlights past extinction events. Faunas from younger tropical amber deposits (e.g. Dominican and Mexican amber are comparable to Recent ones. Generally, there is a strong bias in the amber record towards groups that live under tree

The thorax has a wide dynamic range from low (lung fields) to high X-ray absorption (mediastinum, retrocardiac and retrodiaphragmatic areas). The conventional screen/film system cannot visualize each area of the thorax with good contrast on a single sheet of film with the wide latitude. To solve this problem, advanced multiple-beam equalization radiography (AMBER), a type of scanning equalization radiography, has been developed. The present studies were designed to evaluate the usefulness of AMBER for the chest from the experimental and clinical aspects. In the experimental study, an imaging technology assessment of density and contrast properties and a phantom study for detecting a simulated pulmonary nodule were carried out. In the clinical study, visualization of the normal structures and abnormal shadows in chest radiographs was assessed. X-ray findings in the AMBER films were compared with those of conventional chest radiographs using the screen/film system. In the analysis of density and contrast properties, AMBER showed more favorable contrast properties than the conventional system, regardless of background density. In the phantom study, the detectability of the nodule in the retrocardiac or retrodiaphragmatic region in an AMBER film was superior to that of the conventional system, and there was no reduction in detectability in other regions of the peripheral lung field. In the clinical assessment, AMBER was excellent for visualization of the mediastinum and the normal structures and lesions in the retrocardiac and retrodiaphragmatic areas. AMBER can be concluded to be excellent in visualizing not only the high absorption area, which is difficult to observe with the conventional system, but also the low absorption area. (author)

Full Text Available Different studies investigate the use of waste glass in Portland cement compounds, either as aggregates or as supplementary cementitious materials. Nevertheless, it seems that there is no consensus about the influence of particle color and size on the behavior of the compounds. This study addresses the influence of cement replacement by 10 and 20% of the colorless and amber soda-lime glass particles sized around 9.5 μm on the performance of Portland cement mortars. Results revealed that the partial replacement of cement could contribute to the production of durable mortars in relation to the inhibition of the alkali-aggregate reaction. This effect was more marked with 20% replacement using amber glass. Samples containing glass microparticles were more resistant to corrosion, in particular those made of colorless glass. The use of colorless and amber glass microparticles promoted a reduction in wear resistance.

Amber mutants of bacteriophage T7 are reverted by γ-rays to pseudo wild-type particles, i.e. particles able to propagate in a suppressorless host. The yield of revertants is much higher when the phage is irradiated in the presence of oxygen than when irradiated anoxically. Under particular gas conditions the efficiency of mutation induction differs by less than a factor of ten among six different amber codons in cistrons 1, 5, 6, 12, 17 and 19. The induction of mutations is not dependent on error-prone repair involving the recA or lexA genes of the host cell. It is estimated that of the damages that may be inflicted by γ-rays upon an amber codon, fewer than 1 out of 85 results in reversion of the codon to pseudo wild type

The upper Turonian lignite deposits of Sainte-Mondane, Dordogne (Aquitaine Basin, SW France), consist of clays bearing translucent, orange to red, amber micrograins. The amber exhibits different types of microbial inclusions. The clays contain several conifers including the genera Brachyphyllum, Frenelopsis and Glenrosa, and a few leaf fragments of eudicot angiosperms. Among the plant meso-fossils the occurrence of Costatheca, Spermatites and abundant, diverse, megaspores, including species of Ariadnaesporites, Bacutriletes, Echitriletes, Erlansonisporites, Maexisporites, Minerisporites and Verrutriletes, is noteworthy. Pollen grains of the Normapolles group are important components of the palynomorph assemblage. The clays were deposited in a calm, estuarine or lagoonal, muddy environment. The overlying lignitic sands contain large fossil wood pieces of the conifer Agathoxylon, small solitary corals, fragmentary oysters and pectinids, echinoid spines, a few teeth of marine selachians and bony fishes, but no amber is present. These sands were deposited in a high-energy coastal marine environment. (Author)

The protein, phospholipid and sterol composition of the oil body surface from the seeds of two rapeseed genotypes was compared in order to explain their contrasted oil extractability. In the mature seeds of oleaginous plants, storage lipids accumulate in specialized structures called oil bodies (OBs). These organelles consist of a core of neutral lipids surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer in which structural proteins are embedded. The physical stability of OBs is a consequence of the interactions between proteins and phospholipids. A detailed study of OB characteristics in mature seeds as well as throughout seed development was carried out on two contrasting rapeseed genotypes Amber and Warzanwski. These two accessions were chosen because they differ dramatically in (1) crushing ability, (2) oil extraction yield and, (3) the stability of purified OBs. Warzanwski has higher crushing ability, better oil extraction yield and less stable purified OBs than Amber. OB morphology was investigated in situ using fluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and pulsed field gradient NMR. During seed development, OB diameter first increased and then decreased 30 days after pollination in both Amber and Warzanwski embryos. In mature seeds, Amber OBs were significantly smaller. The protein, phospholipid and sterol composition of the hemi-membrane was compared between the two accessions. Amber OBs were enriched with H-oleosins and steroleosins, suggesting increased coverage of the OB surface consistent with their higher stability. The nature and composition of phospholipids and sterols in Amber OBs suggest that the hemi-membrane would have a more rigid structure than that of Warzanwski OBs.

The currently funded African Meridian B-Field Education and Research (AMBER) magnetometer array comprises more than thirteen magnetometers stationed globally in the vicinity of geomagnetic equator. One of the main objectives of AMBER network is to understand the longitudinal variability of equatorial electrodynamics as function of local time, magnetic activity, and season. While providing complete meridian observation in the region and filling the largest land-based gap in global magnetometer coverage, the AMBER array addresses two fundamental areas of space physics: first, the processes governing electrodynamics of the equatorial ionosphere as a function of latitude (or L-shell), local time, longitude, magnetic activity, and season, and second, ULF pulsation strength at low/mid-latitude regions and its connection with equatorial electrojet and density fluctuation. The global AMBER network can also be used to augment observations from space-based instruments, such us the triplet SWARM mission and the upcoming ICON missions. Thus, in coordination with space-based and other ground-based observations, the AMBER magnetometer network provides a great opportunity to understand the electrodynamics that governs equatorial ionosphere motions. In this paper we present the longitudinal variability of the equatorial electrodynamics using the combination of instruments onboard SWARM and C/NOFS satellites and ground-based AMBER network. Both ground- and pace-based observations show stronger dayside and evening sector equatorial electrodynamics in the American and Asian sectors compared to the African sector. On the other hand, the African sector is home to stronger and year-round ionospheric bubbles/irregularities compared to the American and Asian sectors. This raises the question if the evening sector equatorial electrodynamics (vertical drift), which is believed to be the main cause for the enhancement of Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability growth rate, is stronger in the

A recent publication in Botany introduced two new taxa: a fossil orchid seed (Mycophoris) and a fossilized basidiomycete fungus (Synaptomitus) in an alleged relationship with this orchid, encased in 15–20 million year old Dominican amber (Poinar, G. 2017. Two new genera, Mycophoris gen. nov......., (Orchidaceae) and Synaptomitus gen. nov. (Basidiomycota) based on a fossil seed with developing embryo and associated fungus in Dominican amber. Botany, 95: 1–8). From the working knowledge of extant orchid seeds, seedlings, and mycorrhiza shared among us, we cannot support these interpretations. Here we...

Cell free extracts from a streptomycin-resistant E. coli mutant which is also temperature-sensitive for Q beta phage were studied for suppression of a nonsense mutation at various temperatures. The streptomycin-resistant ribosomes of the mutant were found to be temperature-sensitive in suppression of an amber mutation in f2 phage coat protein while retaining the ability to synthesize proteins at an elevated temperature (42 degrees C). The restriction of amber suppression at 42 degrees C is assumed to be related to an alteration in ribosomal protein S12 of the streptomycin-resistant mutant which also causes a change in its electrophoretic mobility.

In this program, Amber Kinetics designed, built, and tested a sub-­scale 5 kWh engineering prototype flywheel system. Applying lessons learned from the engineering prototype, Amber Kinetics then designed, built and tested full-­size, commercial-­scale 25 kWh flywheel systems. The systems underwent basic functional qualification testing before being installed, sequentially, at the company’s outdoor test site in Alameda, CA for full-­speed field-testing. The primary considerations in testing the prototype units were to demonstrate the functionality of the system, verify the frequencies of resonant modes, and quantify spinning losses and motor/generator efficiency.

AMBER Instrument on VLT Delivers a Wealth of Results The ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer, which allows astronomers to scrutinise objects with a precision equivalent to that of a 130-m telescope, is proving itself an unequalled success every day. One of the latest instruments installed, AMBER, has led to a flurry of scientific results, an anthology of which is being published this week as special features in the research journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. ESO PR Photo 06a/07 ESO PR Photo 06a/07 The AMBER Instrument "With its unique capabilities, the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) has created itself a niche in which it provide answers to many astronomical questions, from the shape of stars, to discs around stars, to the surroundings of the supermassive black holes in active galaxies," says Jorge Melnick (ESO), the VLT Project Scientist. The VLTI has led to 55 scientific papers already and is in fact producing more than half of the interferometric results worldwide. "With the capability of AMBER to combine up to three of the 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescopes, we can really achieve what nobody else can do," added Fabien Malbet, from the LAOG (France) and the AMBER Project Scientist. Eleven articles will appear this week in Astronomy & Astrophysics' special AMBER section. Three of them describe the unique instrument, while the other eight reveal completely new results about the early and late stages in the life of stars. ESO PR Photo 06b/07 ESO PR Photo 06b/07 The Inner Winds of Eta Carinae The first results presented in this issue cover various fields of stellar and circumstellar physics. Two papers deal with very young solar-like stars, offering new information about the geometry of the surrounding discs and associated outflowing winds. Other articles are devoted to the study of hot active stars of particular interest: Alpha Arae, Kappa Canis Majoris, and CPD -57o2874. They provide new, precise information about their rotating gas envelopes. An important new result concerns

It is shown that partial phenotypic suppression of two ochre mutations ( argE3 and lacZU118 ) and an amber mutation (in. argE) by sublethal concentrations of streptomycin in an rpsLЗ (streptomycin-sensitive) derivative of the Escherichia coli strain AB1157 greatly enhances their adaptive mutability under selection.

amber codon suppression in hSERT to encode the photo-cross-linking unnatural amino acid p-azido-l-phenylalanine into the suggested high- and low-affinity binding sites. We then employ UV-induced cross-linking with azF to map the binding site of escitalopram and paroxetine, two prototypical selective...

Full Text Available A new fossil species of phlebotomine sandflies is described from Dominican amber based in one specimen. Pintomyia (Pifanomyia paleotrichia sp. nov. is distinguished from the other extant and extinct species by aspects of paramere and the basal tuft of bristles in the gonocoxite.

Detailed analyses of the sequence-dependent solvation and ion atmosphere of DNA are presented based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on all the 136 unique tetranucleotide steps obtained by the ABC consortium using the AMBER suite of programs. Significant sequence effects on solvation and ion localization ...

Detailed analyses of the sequence-dependent solvation and ion atmosphere of DNA are presented based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on all the 136 unique tetranucleotide steps obtained by the ABC consortium using the AMBER suite of programs. Significant sequence effects on solvation and ion localization ...

... with applicable laws and regulations including, if necessary, arranging their return to the original... concerned country, in accordance with applicable national or international law requirements. Note to... the OECD § 262.85 Contracts. (a) Transfrontier movements of hazardous wastes subject to amber or red...

-generation carbohydrate force fields. No single force field is consistently better than the others for all the test cases. A statistical assessment of the performance of the force fields indicates that CHEAT(95), CFF, certain versions of Amber and of MM3 have the best overall performance, for these gas phase...

In this work we describe the technology developments behind our current and future generations of high brightness OLED lighting panels. We have developed white and amber OLEDs with excellent performance based on the stacking approach. Current products achieve 40-60 lm/W, while future developments focus on achieving 80 lm/W or higher.

Platygastroid wasps preserved in Dominican amber and oil shale from the Kishenehn formation (Montana, USA) in the National Museum of Natural History are catalogued. Compression fossils in Kishenehn oil shale yield a specimen of Fidiobia, a specimen of Telenominae, and a specimen with a Scelio-type o...

A new genus and species of Eucoilinae, Rovnoeucoila tympanomorpha Buffington & Perkovsky, from a Rovno Amber inclusion, is described. This new taxon differs from extant eucoilines by having a clearly segmented metasoma and singular flagellomere morphology in the antenna. The new taxon is included ...

Terpenoid resin is produced by all families and most genera of the order Coniferales (the conifers), and the distribution of terpenes present in most conifer resins is characteristic of the originating family. Analyses of early Cretaceous (Barremian) amber (fossil resin) from the English Wealden, Isle of Wight, southern England, by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), indicate a terpene distribution dominated by abietane- and labdane-type terpenes. Similar distributions are observed in some species of the extant family Pinaceae. The Pinaceae are well represented within the Wealden deposits of southern England, by only one (known) species, Pityites solmsii (Seward) Seward, whereas the macro-fossil record of these deposits is dominated by the extinct conifer family Cheirolepidiaceae, for which no resin chemistry has been reported. By analogy with modern materials, it is probable that the ambers found in these deposits are derived from an extinct member of the Pinaceae, but given the absence of evidence concerning the chemotaxonomy of the Cheirolepidiaceae, this family cannot be excluded a priori as a possible paleobotanical source. These ambers may therefore be assigned to either the Pinaceae or to the Cheirolepidiaceae. These samples are the oldest ambers to date to yield useful chemotaxonomic data. PMID:18230149

A simple molecular dynamics experiment is described to demonstrate transport properties for the undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory. The AMBER package is used to monitor self-diffusion in "n"-hexane. Scripts (available in the Supporting Information) make the process considerably easier for students, allowing them to focus on the…

and computational studies. Molecular mechanics parameters for the sulfonium center have been developed for the AMBER force field to permit analysis of NMR results and to enable comparison of the relative energies of the different conformations of AdoMet that have been found in crystal structures of complexes...

... onboard computer's memory. A malfunction indicator light (MIL) must also be activated as specified in... amber (yellow) in color; the use of red for the OBD-related MIL is prohibited. More than one general...-home mode of operation causes a overt indication (e.g., activation of a red engine shut-down warning...

Different formulations were manufactured and placed in twelve amber coloured glass bottles for each test condition. One set of bottles was sealed by heat induction technique under vacuum to ensure the integrity of the seal while the other set was without a seal but had a child-resistant cap. Both types of bottles were stored ...

....4Except for multifunction school activity buses, each school bus shall be equipped with a system of either: (a) Four red signal lamps designed to conform to SAE Standard J887, School Bus Red Signal Lamps, July... to SAE Standard J887, School Bus Red Signal Lamps, July 1964, and four amber signal lamps designed to...

We report on the binarity of luminous blue variable stars observed with a set of techniques and instruments. Among them, observations at high angular resolution with the VLT-NACO, the VLTI-AMBER and with spectrographs such as the VLT-XSHOOTER allowed us to find several LBV stars as binaries or

1Amber Animal Health Department, East Gojjam Agricultural Office. 2College of Agriculture and Veterinary ... Adult ticks were collected from 384 local and crossbred cattle which were kept under extensive management ... Studying ticks on livestock under their natural conditions without any control measure is also useful for ...

Background Pyrrolysine (the 22nd amino acid) is in certain organisms and under certain circumstances encoded by the amber stop codon, UAG. The circumstances driving pyrrolysine translation are not well understood. The involvement of a predicted mRNA structure in the region downstream UAG has been...... for experimental verification. The method is implemented as a computational pipeline which is available on request....

It is shown that partial phenotypic suppression of two ochre mutations (argE3 and lacZU118) and an amber mutation (in argE) by sublethal concentrations of streptomycin in an rpsL+ (streptomycin-sensitive) derivative of the Escherichia coli strain AB1157 greatly enhances their adaptive mutability under selection.

Apr 7, 2007 ... Love-potions amber, wines. […] Soyinka, not Hitler. Peace now, not Hiroshima. Nyerere, not Marshall Amin. Poetry is not the Gulag .... ical and economic instability, as well as the sharp inequalities plaguing Africa and the resulting human suffering.” (N'gom 2003). Educated at the Universities of Ibadan and ...

... “sunkissed” berries of the white Malaga variety which show discoloration of amber or light brown color shall not be considered as damaged. “Buckskin” berries of the Tokay variety, and similar injury to other varieties, shall be considered as damaged by discoloration; (3) Heat when the flesh of the berry is affected...

Despite the well-established role of the human serotonin transporter (hSERT) in the treatment of depression, the molecular details of antidepressant drug binding are still not fully understood. Here we utilize amber codon suppression in a membrane-bound transporter protein to encode...

Divided into two parts, this slide narration covers India's history, people, religions, geography, and architecture. The first part, "Introduction: Country, People, and History," covers the general history of India and its people. The history is presented through: (1) the architecture, including the Palace of Winds, the Amber Fort, the…

In the months following the introduction of the National AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert plan used to locate missing and abducted children, Silver Alert programs began to emerge. These programs use the same infrastructure and approach to find a different missing population, cognitively impaired older adults. By late…

a is the major photosynthetic pigment of marine phytoplankton ... for the study of ocean primary production, global carbon and .... tion of pigments. After filtration, the filter papers were ground with 10ml of 90% acetone using pre- cooled glass mortar and pestle and transferred to the amber glass screw cap tube. Then the ...

We describe a set of algorithms that allow to simulate dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR, a common benchmark) with the AMBER all-atom force field at 160 nanoseconds/day on a single Intel Core i7 5960X CPU (no graphics processing unit (GPU), 23,786 atoms, particle mesh Ewald (PME), 8.0 A cutoff, correct

A non-native invasive sawfly, the amber-marked birch leaf miner Profenusa thomsoni (Konow), was first detected in south-central Alaska in 1996 and is now widely distributed throughout urban and wild birch trees in Alaska. Impacts have been considered primarily aesthetic because leaf miners cause leaves of birch trees (Betula...

The estimated value of natural gemstones produced from U.S. deposits during 2012 was $11.1 million, a slight increase from 2011. U.S. gemstone production included agate, amber, beryl, coral, garnet, jade, jasper, opal, pearl, quartz, sapphire, shell, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise and many other gem materials.

Identifying and describing fossil thrips (Thysanoptera) sometimes touches the limits of feasibility. Complications handling these tiny fossils are not only caused by their size, their position or fragmentary nature, but also by the state and condition of the matrices surrounding them. Due to poor preservation in some matrices (such as lime, potash and lignite) their identification often remains uncertain (Ulitzka 2015a). Amber, however, considered as a window on times past (Gröhn et al. 2015), presents a wide range of insect inclusions in excellent condition. Nevertheless, many problems can impede our visibility through this 'window'. Fissures, opacity or clouding in the fossil resin, as well as inclusions or bubbles of air, can cover specific characteristics of an included specimen. Curvature of the amber surface results in optical distortions that can impede a reliable assessment of certain features, and the deeper an inclusion is in the amber the greater are the problems. For these reasons cutting or grinding the amber as close as possible to a specimen is essential. In the future, synchrotron X-ray microtomography may be an alternative (Henderickx et al. 2012; van de Kamp et al. 2014), but at present is too complex and expensive.

that the mechanism is unknown, bacteria from amber are reported to survive for 40 million years or longer (Greenblatt et al. 2004). Living (or at least viable) bacteria apparently occur deep in solid-frozen ground (permafrost) in the cold regions (Gilichinsky and Wagener 1995). We isolated and characterized bacterial strains ...

Full Text Available Abstract Terpenoid resin is produced by all families and most genera of the order Coniferales (the conifers, and the distribution of terpenes present in most conifer resins is characteristic of the originating family. Analyses of early Cretaceous (Barremian amber (fossil resin from the English Wealden, Isle of Wight, southern England, by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS, indicate a terpene distribution dominated by abietane- and labdane-type terpenes. Similar distributions are observed in some species of the extant family Pinaceae. The Pinaceae are well represented within the Wealden deposits of southern England, by only one (known species, Pityites solmsii (Seward Seward, whereas the macro-fossil record of these deposits is dominated by the extinct conifer family Cheirolepidiaceae, for which no resin chemistry has been reported. By analogy with modern materials, it is probable that the ambers found in these deposits are derived from an extinct member of the Pinaceae, but given the absence of evidence concerning the chemotaxonomy of the Cheirolepidiaceae, this family cannot be excluded a priori as a possible paleobotanical source. These ambers may therefore be assigned to either the Pinaceae or to the Cheirolepidiaceae. These samples are the oldest ambers to date to yield useful chemotaxonomic data.

Full Text Available Pondweed bugs (Hemiptera: Mesoveliidae, considered a sister group to all other Gerromorpha, are exceedingly rare as fossils. Therefore, each new discovery of a fossil mesoveliid is of high interest, giving new insight into their early evolutionary history and diversity and enabling the testing of their proposed relationships. Here, we report the discovery of new mesoveliid material from Spanish Lower Cretaceous (Albian amber, which is the first such find in Spanish amber. To date, fossil records of this family only include one species from French Kimmeridgian as compression fossils, two species in French amber (Albian-Cenomanian boundary, and one in Dominican amber (Miocene. The discovery of two males and one female described and figured as Glaesivelia pulcherrima Sánchez-García & Solórzano Kraemer gen. et sp. n., and a single female described and figured as Iberovelia quisquilia Sánchez-García & Nel, gen. et sp. n., reveals novel combinations of traits related to some genera currently in the subfamily Mesoveliinae. Brief comments about challenges facing the study of fossil mesoveliids are provided, showing the necessity for a revision of the existing phylogenetic hypotheses. Some of the specimens were studied using infrared microscopy, a promising alternative to the systematic study of organisms preserved in amber that cannot be clearly visualised. The new taxa significantly expand the fossil record of the family and shed new light on its palaeoecology. The fossils indicate that Mesoveliidae were certainly diverse by the Cretaceous and that numerous tiny cryptic species living in humid terrestrial to marginal aquatic habitats remain to be discovered. Furthermore, the finding of several specimens as syninclusions suggests aggregative behaviour, thereby representing the earliest documented evidence of such ethology.

Another vital step has been accomplished as planned towards full operation of the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, one of the world's foremost astronomical facilities. In the night of March 20-21, 2004, a team of astronomers and engineers from France, Italy, Germany and ESO celebrated the successful assembly and completion of the first on-line tests of the latest of the first-generation VLTI instruments, the Astronomical Multiple BEam Recombiner (AMBER). They combined the two beams of light from the southern star Theta Centauri from two test telescopes ("siderostats" with 40-cm aperture, cf. ESO PR 06/01) to produce strong and clear interferometric fringes. Equally successful observations were then obtained on the bright star Sirius, and consistently repeated during the following nights. A joint project This is the most promising result of about 7 years of dedicated work by a team of over 40 astronomers and engineers. The AMBER instrument has been developed by a European consortium of seven research institutes in three ESO member countries, the main partners being: Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (LAOG), Laboratoire Universitaire d'Astrophysique de Nice (LUAN) and Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur in France, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany, and Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (OAA; part of INAF, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics) in Florence, Italy. The total cost of AMBER is of the order of 5.9 million Euros, mostly contributed by the members of the consortium. It was built through an agreement with ESO, which rewards the consortium solely with guaranteed observing time. According to the contract, the consortium will receive 60 observing nights to be spread among two or three of the four 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescopes and 130 nights with the four Auxiliary Telescopes over a period of eight years. AMBER: soon to join three light beams at once ESO PR Photo 09a/04

The localized surface plasmon resonance exhibited by noble metal nanoparticles can be sensitively tuned by varying their size and interparticle distances. We report that corrosive vapour (ammonia) exposure dramatically reduces the population density of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) embedded within bacterial cellulose, leading to a larger distance between the remaining nanoparticles and a decrease in the UV-Vis absorbance associated with the AgNP plasmonic properties. We also found that the size distribution of AgNPs embedded in bacterial cellulose undergoes a reduction in the presence of volatile compounds released during food spoilage, modulating the studied nanoplasmonic properties. In fact, such a plasmonic nanopaper exhibits a change in colour from amber to light amber upon the explored corrosive vapour exposure and from amber to a grey or taupe colour upon fish or meat spoilage exposure. These phenomena are proposed as a simple visual detection of volatile compounds in a flexible, transparent, permeable and stable single-use nanoplasmonic membrane, which opens the way to innovative approaches and capabilities in gas sensing and smart packaging.The localized surface plasmon resonance exhibited by noble metal nanoparticles can be sensitively tuned by varying their size and interparticle distances. We report that corrosive vapour (ammonia) exposure dramatically reduces the population density of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) embedded within bacterial cellulose, leading to a larger distance between the remaining nanoparticles and a decrease in the UV-Vis absorbance associated with the AgNP plasmonic properties. We also found that the size distribution of AgNPs embedded in bacterial cellulose undergoes a reduction in the presence of volatile compounds released during food spoilage, modulating the studied nanoplasmonic properties. In fact, such a plasmonic nanopaper exhibits a change in colour from amber to light amber upon the explored corrosive vapour exposure and

Many people in our modern civilized society sleep later on free days compared to work days. This discrepancy in sleep timing will lead to so-called 'social jetlag' on work days with negative consequences for performance and health. Light therapy in the morning is often proposed as the most effective method to advance the circadian rhythm and sleep phase. However, most studies focus on direct effects on the circadian system and not on posttreatment effects on sleep phase and sleep integrity. In this placebo-controlled home study we investigated if blue light, rather than amber light therapy, can phase shift the sleep phase along with the circadian rhythm with preservation of sleep integrity and performance. We selected 42 participants who suffered from 'social jetlag' on workdays. Participants were randomly assigned to either high-intensity blue light exposure or amber light exposure (placebo) with similar photopic illuminance. The protocol consisted of 14 baseline days without sleep restrictions, 9 treatment days with either 30-min blue light pulses or 30-min amber light pulses in the morning along with a sleep advancing scheme and 7 posttreatment days without sleep restrictions. Melatonin samples were taken at days 1, 7, 14 (baseline), day 23 (effect treatment), and day 30 (posttreatment). Light exposure was recorded continuously. Sleep was monitored through actigraphy. Performance was measured with a reaction time task. As expected, the phase advance of the melatonin rhythm from day 14 to day 23 was significantly larger in the blue light exposure group, compared to the amber light group (84 min ± 51 (SD) and 48 min ± 47 (SD) respectively; t36 = 2.23, p blue light group compared to slightly later in the amber light group (-21 min ± 33 (SD) and +12 min ± 33 (SD) respectively; F1,35 = 9.20, p light group compared to the blue light group during sleep in the treatment period (F1,32 = 4.40, p light treatment (F1,13 = 17.1, p blue light

To develop a cisplatin formulation at 1mg/mL concentration by setting the solution preparation procedure for parenteral administration, with good physical, chemical, biological and microbiological stability. two formulation variants of cisplatin: one solution with and the other without acetate buffer. Both were followed in terms of physical and chemical stability for 3 months. The formulations used raw material from IMPEX SA company, which has 99.74 % power as certified by the manufacturer analysis. Three batches of 10mg cistoplatin at pilot scale in amber 10 R vials, 3 batches of 50 mg cisplatin in amber 50 H vials and the dose was 1mg/ml. Excipients were used to give isotony and stability to the formulation with 0.1 N chlorhydric acid and injection water for vehicle. The high performance liquid chromatography allowed evaluating the stability to determine the expiry date of the drug. The biological and microbiological methods determined lack of pyrogens and sterility respectively

Full Text Available Translation of target gene transcripts in Escherichia coli harboring UAG amber stop codons can be switched on by the amber-codon-specific incorporation of an exogenously supplied unnatural amino acid, 3-iodo-L-tyrosine. Here, we report that this translational switch can control the translational efficiency at any intermediate magnitude by adjustment of the 3-iodo-L-tyrosine concentration in the medium, as a tunable translational controller. The translational efficiency of a target gene reached maximum levels with 10−5 M 3-iodo-L-tyrosine, and intermediate levels were observed with suboptimal concentrations (approximately spanning a 2-log10 concentration range, 10−7–10−5 M. Such intermediate-level expression was also confirmed in individual bacteria.

Full Text Available The Turkish Van cat originates from eastern Turkey. One of the characteristic features of Van cats is the colour of their eyes, which can be both eyes blue, both eyes amber or one eye blue and the other amber. Serum essential trace, macro and industrial element concentrations of Van cats (n = 47 according to sex, age, hair length and eye colour differences were investigated. Serum aluminium, arsenic, boron, barium, cobalt, chromium, copper, gallium, indium, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, nickel, selenium, silver, sulphur, strontium, vanadium and zinc were measured with ICP-OES plasma optical atomic emission spectrometer. In result, serum aluminium, barium, copper, manganese and strontium levels in male cats were found higher (p p p p > 0.05 found in the age and hair length groups. Our results indicate that several of the blood serum elements of Van cats may be related to their eye colours and sex differences.

Observation of benthic photoautotrophs on sediment surfaces shows a single algal layer without distinction between photosynthetic groups. Until now it has not been possible to distinguish between benthic photosynthetic microorganisms, i.e. cyanobacteria and diatoms, at μm to mm scales using...... a single nondisruptive system. Chlorophyll autofluorescence can be used to distinguish different photoautotrophic groups if the correct excitation light is applied. Using this principle, a nonintrusive technique was developed to study the spatial distribution of benthic cyanobacteria and diatoms. By means...... of a charge coupled device camera, diatoms and cyanobacteria could be identified by blue light (470 nm) excitation and amber light (600 nm) excitation, respectively. By this approach, diatom or cyanobacterial dominance could be easily distinguished using the blue over amber ratio. We applied this method...

A study on the attraction of adult Propsilocerus akamusi midges to different-colored light traps was carried out from October 21 to November 15, 2013. The 6 colored lights used in light-emitting diode (LED) lamps were white, green, red, blue, amber, and ultraviolet (UV). The UV lamp attracted the most P. akamusi, followed by green, white, blue, amber, and red. A white pulsed LED light attracted only half the number of midges as did a continuous-emission white LED light. The result indicated that manipulation of light color, considering that the red LED light and/or pulsed LED light are not as attractive as the other colors, may be appropriate for the development of an overall integrated strategy to control nuisance P. akamusi in the Lake Suwa area.

Lichens are highly specialized symbioses between heterotrophic fungi and photoautotrophic green algae or cyanobacteria. The mycobionts of many lichens produce morphologically complex thalli to house their photobionts. Lichens play important roles in ecosystems and have been used as indicators of environmental change. Here we report the finding of 152 new fossil lichens from European Palaeogene amber, and hence increase the total number of known fossil lichens from 15 to 167. Most of the fossils represent extant lineages of the Lecanoromycetes, an almost exclusively lichen-symbiotic class of Ascomycota. The fossil lichens show a wide diversity of morphological adaptations that attached epiphytic thalli to their substrates, helped to combine external water storage with effective gas exchange and facilitated the simultaneous reproduction and dispersal of both partners in symbiosis. The fossil thallus morphologies suggest that the climate of European Palaeogene amber forests was relatively humid and most likely temperate.

Full Text Available Abstract Pastaza is the largest and least populated province in Ecuador, with seven native indigenous nationalities. The Kichwas from the Rio Chico community live near to the capital city Puyo, are recognized for their knowledge on stingless honey bees. From the 400 species of Neotropical Meliponini that make honey in cerumen pots, almost 100 thrive in Southern Ecuador, and confer such biodiversity to pot-honey. In this study sensory characteristics of Ecuadorian false and genuine honeys with diverse entomological origin: Apis mellifera – light amber and amber, Geotrigona leucogastra, Melipona grandis and Scaptotrigona sp. (S. ederi np Schwarz were investigated with Kichwa assessors (four female and four male, aged 18–62 years old. The panel was asked to taste and to identify sensory attributes of honey (appearance, taste, smell, aroma, mouthfeel, other tactile sensations, and to score their intensities in 10 cm unstructured line scales anchored with the words weak and strong, using the Free-Choice Profile methodology The Generalized Procrustes Analysis was used on the data. The first and second dimensions accounted for by 61.1% of the variance. In the descriptive sensory evaluation, darker honeys (amber A. mellifera, false and Geotrigona were separated from (light amber A. mellifera, Melipona and Scaptotrigona by the first dimension; whereas thicker honeys (A. mellifera and false were discriminated from thinner honeys (Geotrigona, Melipona and Scaptotrigona by the second dimension. The assessors were able to evaluate and differentiate honey types without previous sensory training. Remarkably, two Kichwa ladies immediately spit out the false honey, in contrast to an acceptance study on 18-honeys, where the false honey was scored among the preferred ones by 58 participants of the First Congress on Apiculture and Meliponiculture in Ecuador. Therefore, results suggest that Ecuadorian native Kichwas keep a sensory legacy of ancestral knowledge

the deployment of Forces Alpha and GRANDIOS had a series of graduated ale&-AMBER, AZURE, GREEN, and which the airborne battle group could be readied...declared. PURPLE required “all aspects of Plan GRANDIOS tobe exe- cuted,‘” and so while the task force may have been ready to move to the airfield...security classifications on such plans as BLUEBAT and GRANDIOS prevented most people from knowing enough about what they contained actu- ally to make the

UV induced mutagenesis of bacteriophage T 7 was investigated by using a forward mutation system (host range system) and a back mutation system (amber system). The results indicate a dependence of mutation of T 7 after UV irradiation only on the rec gene controlled functions of the bacterial host. The functions controlled by pol and uvr genes have no influence. Among other types of mutations UV irradiation leads to transitions from AT to GC. (author)

jazz musicians would play (with neither sheet music orchestration or a conductor). Here, logisticians...the USS Blue Ridge. A Navy ship at port requested emer- gency medical supplies through USAMMC–K, and USAMMC–K coordinated the delivery. Before...authorized? The answers to these questions determine the level of readiness, which can be defined in terms of gold, green, amber, red, and black . To be

Full Text Available A new genus and species of Ichneutinae s. l., Colemanus keeleyorum Fisher, is described from the Eocene Green River Formation in Colorado, USA. Colemanus was placed on a phylogenetic hypothesis using morphological data. Using a parsimony criterion, Colemanus is placed within Proteropini (Ichneutinae s. l.. Reconstructions of well-preserved regions (mesosomal dorsum and wings are included. A previously described species from lower Oligocene Baltic amber is transferred to Colemanus, resulting in the new combination C. contortus (Brues, 1933.

TJ, & Wildzunas, RM. Total sleep time measured by actigraphy predicts academic performance during military training [abstract]. Abstract presented...pharmacologic approach to improving sleep and regulating circadian rhythms among individuals with PTSD. In this study, we will evaluate the effectiveness of a...will be randomly assigned to receive 30 minutes of daily morning blue light therapy (BL) or an amber light placebo treatment (PL). Sleep quality and

Evaluation of the dose exposure rate to human being due to long-term nuclide releases from a high-level waste repository (HLW) is of importance to meet the dose limit presented by the regulatory bodies in order to ensure the performance of a repository. During the last few years, tools by which such a dose rate to an individual can be evaluated have been developed and implemented for a practical calculation to demonstrate the suitability of an HLW repository, with the aid of commercial tools such as AMBER and GoldSim, both of which are capable of probabilistic and deterministic calculations with their convenient user interface. Recently a migration from AMBER based models to GoldSim based ones has been made in accordance with a better feature of GoldSim, which is designed to facilitate the object-oriented modules to address any specialized programs, similar to solving jig saw puzzles and shows more advantage in a detailed complex modeling over AMBER. Recently a compartment modeling approach both for a geosphere and biosphere has been mainly carried out with AMBER in KAERI, which causes a necessity for a newly devised system performance evaluation model in which geosphere and biosphere models could be coupled organically together with less conservatism in the frame of the development of a total system performance assessment modeling tool, which could be successfully done with the aid of GoldSim. Therefore, through the current study, some probabilistic results of the GoldSim approach for a normal situation that could take place in a typical HLW repository are introduced

Many LED-based applications would benefit from more efficient and/or high lumen output devices that enable usage in both white and single color illumination schemes. In the present article we briefly review the materials research history leading to optical ceramic converters and discuss their typical characteristics. Recently demonstrated high performance values in terms of efficacy and external quantum efficiency in orange (amber) spectral region are described.

Humans have been intrigued by gemstones since prehistoric times. Gemstones have been valued as treasured objects throughout history by all societies in all parts of the world. The first stones known to have been used for making jewelry include amber, amethyst, coral, diamond, emerald, garnet, jade, jasper, lapis lazuli, pearl, rock crystal, ruby, serpentine and turquoise. These stones served as status symbols for the wealthy. Today, arguably, gems are worn more for pleasure and in appreciation of their beauty than to demonstrate wealth.

INTRODUCTION: Dentinogenesis imperfecta (DI) is a hereditary dentin development disorder that affects both primary and permanent dentitions. The DI characteristics are discolored and translucent teeth ranging from gray to brownish-blue or amber. The enamel may split readily from the dentin when subjected to occlusal stress. Radiographically there are evident of cervical constrictions, short root and pulp chambers, and the root canals are smaller than normal or completely obliterated. The dent...

Full Text Available The description of Micropygomyia brandaoi, a new species of fossil phlebotomine sand fly, is based on one male specimen obtained from Dominican amber of the Miocene period (20 million years. In this new species, the fifth palpal segment is long, the coxite lacks a setal tuft and the style shows four well-developed spines. This set of characters allowed us to place the new species in the genus Micropygomyia Barretto.

Abstract Deinodryinus velteni sp. n. is described from middle Eocene Baltic amber. The species differs from other fossil Palaearctic species of Deinodryinus Perkins owing to the shape of the antenna (clavate, with distal part very thickened), the large compound eyes, and the distal part of the stigmal vein much longer than the proximal part. A revision and a key to the fossil Palaearctic species of Deinodryinus Perkins, 1907 is presented.

The investigation is focused on identification and origin of fossil resins from the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary sediments of Northern Eurasia on the basis of detailed study of their physical and chemical characteristics: morphology; size; mass; density; optical, mechanical, and thermal properties; chemical composition; etc. The composition of amorphous organic minerals with polymeric structure, fossil resins included, is studied with IR spectrometry, the EPR method, derivatography at low heating rates, XRD, chemical analysis, emission spectrometry, etc. The results of investigation summarized for the Baltic-Dnieper, North Siberian, and Far East amber-bearing provinces show some similarity of fossil resins in combination with specific features inherent to each province. Resins from the Baltic-Dnieper province should be termed as amber (succinite). Their variety is the most characteristic of Northern and Eastern Europe. Amber-like fossil resins from the North Siberian and Far East provinces are irrelevant to succinite. They usually occur as brittle resins, namely, retinite and gedanite, without jewelry value. Viscous fossil resin rumänite with an expected high economic value occurs in the Far East, on the shore of Sakhalin Island.

Amber is a plant resin mainly produced by coniferous trees that, after entrapping a variety of living beings, was subjected to a process of fossilization until it turned into yellowish, translucent stones. It is also one of the best sources of ancient DNA on which to perform studies on evolution. Here a method for the sterilization of amber that allows reliable ancient DNA extraction with no actual DNA contamination is described. Working with insects taken from amber, it was possible to amplify the ATP9, PGU1 and rRNA18S ancient genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae corresponding to samples from the Miocene and Oligocene. After comparison of the current genes with their ancient (up to 35-40 million years) counterparts it was concluded that essential genes such as rRNA18S are highly conserved and that even normal 'house-keeping' genes, such as PGU1, are strikingly conserved along the millions of years that S. cerevisiae has evolved.

Fossilization in amber is unique in preserving specimens with microscopic fidelity; however, arthropod inclusions are rarely examined beyond the exoskeleton as this requires destructive sampling when traditional techniques are used. We report the first complete, digital 3D, non-destructive reconstruction of the anatomy of an insect fossil, a specimen of Mengea tertiaria embedded in a 42-Ma Baltic amber. This was made possible using Synchrotron micro-CT. The species belongs to the stem group of the phylogenetically enigmatic and extremely specialized Strepsiptera. Most internal structures of the fossil are preserved, but small parts of the lumen had decayed due to incomplete infiltration of the resin. Data on internal organs provided additional information for resolving phylogenetic relationships. A sister group relationship between Mengea and all extant lineages of the group was confirmed with characters previously not accessible. The newly gained information also yielded some insights in the biology of Mengea and the early evolutionary history of Strepsiptera. The technique has a tremendous potential for a more accurate interpretation of diverse fossil arthropods preserved in ambers from 130 Ma to the present.

Fossilization in amber is unique in preserving specimens with microscopic fidelity; however, arthropod inclusions are rarely examined beyond the exoskeleton as this requires destructive sampling when traditional techniques are used. We report the first complete, digital 3D, non-destructive reconstruction of the anatomy of an insect fossil, a specimen of † Mengea tertiaria embedded in a 42-Ma Baltic amber. This was made possible using Synchrotron μ-CT. The species belongs to the stem group of the phylogenetically enigmatic and extremely specialized Strepsiptera. Most internal structures of the fossil are preserved, but small parts of the lumen had decayed due to incomplete infiltration of the resin. Data on internal organs provided additional information for resolving phylogenetic relationships. A sister group relationship between † Mengea and all extant lineages of the group was confirmed with characters previously not accessible. The newly gained information also yielded some insights in the biology of † Mengea and the early evolutionary history of Strepsiptera. The technique has a tremendous potential for a more accurate interpretation of diverse fossil arthropods preserved in ambers from 130 Ma to the present.

Full Text Available There are different factors that affect driver’s behaviour at an urban signalized intersection. Complementary countdown signal heads can be used to inform the driver about the traffic light phase status. In the research presented in this paper, we explored how a countdown signal affects the driver’s reaction. We focused on the analysis of red/amber, red and amber running violations. We also observed and measured traffic flow start-up lost time and headway per cycle. Measurements took place in Ljubljana at a four-way intersection where two countdown signal heads are installed that face different directions. We used the “on-off-on” approach, using video surveillance and detection technology. According to the results of the investigative questionnaire, more than 84% of the surveyed drivers expressed positive opinion about the device. Analyses of field-test results have shown that the red and/or amber running violation rate is higher when the device is turned off. The results of the paper suggest that the countdown device had very little effect on the capacity of an urban signalized intersection.

Proper collection and preservation techniques are necessary to ensure sample integrity and maintain the stability of analytes until analysis. Data from improperly collected and preserved samples could lead to faulty conclusions and misinterpretation of the occurrence and fate of the compounds being studied. Because contaminants of emerging concern, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and steroids, generally occur in surface and drinking water at ng/L levels, these compounds in particular require such protocols to accurately assess their concentrations. In this study, sample bottle types, residual oxidant quenching agents, preservation agents, and hold times were assessed for 21 PPCPs and steroids in surface water and finished drinking water. Amber glass bottles were found to have the least effect on target analyte concentrations, while high-density polyethylene bottles had the most impact. Ascorbic acid, sodium thiosulfate, and sodium sulfite were determined to be acceptable quenching agents and preservation with sodium azide at 4 °C led to the stability of the most target compounds. A combination of amber glass bottles, ascorbic acid, and sodium azide preserved analyte concentrations for 28 days in the tested matrices when held at 4 °C. Samples without a preservation agent were determined to be stable for all but two of the analytes when stored in amber glass bottles at 4 °C for 72 h. Results suggest that if improper protocols are utilized, reported concentrations of target PPCPs and steroids may be inaccurate.

Here we present evidence that in water/acetonitrile solvent detailed structural and dynamic information can be obtained for important proteins that are naturally present as oligomers under native conditions. An NMR-derived human insulin monomer structure in H{sub 2}O/CD{sub 3}CN, 65/35 vol%, pH 3.6 is presented and compared with the available X-ray structure of a monomer that forms part of a hexamer (Acta Crystallogr. 2003 Sec. D59, 474) and with NMR structures in water and organic cosolvent. Detailed analysis using PFGSE NMR, temperature-dependent NMR, dilution experiments and CSI proves that the structure is monomeric in the concentration and temperature ranges 0.1-3 mM and 10-30 deg. C, respectively. The presence of long-range interstrand NOEs, as found in the crystal structure of the monomer, provides the evidence for conservation of the tertiary structure. Starting from structures calculated by the program CYANA, two different molecular dynamics simulated annealing refinement protocols were applied, either using the program AMBER in vacuum (AMBER{sub V}C), or including a generalized Born solvent model (AMBER{sub G}B)

Here we present evidence that in water/acetonitrile solvent detailed structural and dynamic information can be obtained for important proteins that are naturally present as oligomers under native conditions. An NMR-derived human insulin monomer structure in H 2 O/CD 3 CN, 65/35 vol%, pH 3.6 is presented and compared with the available X-ray structure of a monomer that forms part of a hexamer (Acta Crystallogr. 2003 Sec. D59, 474) and with NMR structures in water and organic cosolvent. Detailed analysis using PFGSE NMR, temperature-dependent NMR, dilution experiments and CSI proves that the structure is monomeric in the concentration and temperature ranges 0.1-3 mM and 10-30 deg. C, respectively. The presence of long-range interstrand NOEs, as found in the crystal structure of the monomer, provides the evidence for conservation of the tertiary structure. Starting from structures calculated by the program CYANA, two different molecular dynamics simulated annealing refinement protocols were applied, either using the program AMBER in vacuum (AMBER V C), or including a generalized Born solvent model (AMBER G B)

Full Text Available This experiment had for objective to evaluate some parameters of quality of the bee honey (Apis mellífera L. produced by IAGRAM and commercialized in the city of Mossoró-RN. For this, 19 honey samples had been collected in the local market, these were analyzed, in the Chemistry Laboratory of the Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA, how much to the color, humidity, total acidity, reducing sugars, apparent sucrose and diastase activity. It was utilized districted statistics for analysis of date, with shunting line standard, reliable interval and distribution of frequency. The honeys sample presented the colors clearly extra amber (5,2%, amber (5,2% and dark amber (89,4%. The honey samples presented normal standard established for the Brazilian Legislation as humidity percentage (14,3 18.6% and reducing sugars (66,9 75.0%. About 5,2% and 42% of the analyzed honey samples, not presented, respectively, apparent sucrose content and total acidity, as the standard established for commercialization as floral honey. The diastase activity was remained inside of the quality standard.

Full Text Available The suppression of amber stop codons with non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs is used for the site-specific introduction of many unusual functions into proteins. Specific orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (o-aaRS/amber suppressor tRNA(CUA pairs (o-pairs for the incorporation of ncAAs in S. cerevisiae were previously selected from an E. coli tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA(CUA mutant library. Incorporation fidelity relies on the specificity of the o-aaRSs for their ncAAs and the ability to effectively discriminate against their natural substrate Tyr or any other canonical amino acid.We used o-pairs previously developed for ncAAs carrying reactive alkyne-, azido-, or photocrosslinker side chains to suppress an amber mutant of human superoxide dismutase 1 in S. cerevisiae. We found worse incorporation efficiencies of the alkyne- and the photocrosslinker ncAAs than reported earlier. In our hands, amber suppression with the ncAA containing the azido group did not occur at all. In addition to the incorporation experiments in S. cerevisiae, we analyzed the catalytic properties of the o-aaRSs in vitro. Surprisingly, all o-aaRSs showed much higher preference for their natural substrate Tyr than for any of the tested ncAAs. While it is unclear why efficiently recognized Tyr is not inserted at amber codons, we speculate that metabolically inert ncAAs accumulate in the cell, and for this reason they are incorporated despite being weak substrates for the o-aaRSs.O-pairs have been developed for a whole plethora of ncAAs. However, a systematic and detailed analysis of their catalytic properties is still missing. Our study provides a comprehensive scrutiny of o-pairs developed for the site-specific incorporation of reactive ncAAs in S. cerevisiae. It suggests that future development of o-pairs as efficient biotechnological tools will greatly benefit from sound characterization in vivo and in vitro in parallel to monitoring intracellular ncAA levels.

Although Satellite observations in the African sector show unique equatorial ionospheric structures that can severely impact navigation and communication systems, the study of ionospheric disturbances in this region is difficult due to the lack of ground-based instruments. This has created a gap in global understanding of the physics behind the evolution and formation of plasma irregularities in the equatorial region, which imposes limitations on ionospheric density modeling efforts. Therefore, in order to have a more complete global understanding of equatorial ionosphere motion, the international space science community has begun to develop an observational infrastructure in the African sector. This includes the deployment of a number of arrays of small instruments, including the AMBER magnetometer array, through the International Heliophysical Year (IHY) cooperative program with the United Nations Basic Space Science (UNBSS) program. Two AMBER magnetometers have been deployed successfully at Adigrat (~6°N magnetic) in Ethiopia and at Medea in Algeria (28°N magnetic), and became fully operational on 03 August 2008. The remaining two AMBER magnetometers will be deployed soon in Cameroon and Namibia. One of the prime scientific objectives of AMBER is to understand the processes governing electrodynamics of the equatorial ionosphere as a function of latitude, local time, magnetic activity, and season in the African region. The most credible driving mechanism of ionospheric plasma (E × B drift) can be estimated using two magnetometers, one right at the equator and the other about 6 off the equator. Therefore, using the AMBER magnetometer at Adigrat and the INTERMAGNET magnetometer located at Addis Ababa (0.9°N magnetic) in Ethiopia, the equatorial electrojet (E × B drift) activities in that longitudinal sector of the African continent is estimated. The paper also presents the comparison between the estimated vertical drift and the drift values obtained from the

Plasmid R46 partially protected Salmonella typhimurium, wild type or uvrB or polA, against the lethal effect of ultraviolet (uv) irradiation, but did not protect recA mutants. The plasmid also increased frequency of uv-induced reversion to His + in all tested his point mutants (wild type for uv sensitivity), including amber, ochre, UGA, missense, and frame-shift mutants. Plasmid R46 also increased uv-induced reversion to His + in uvrB and polA strains, but no uv mutagenic effect was detected in R - or R46-carrying recA derivatives of a his(amber) mutant. The spontaneous reversion frequency of his nonsense mutants of all classes, and of some his missense mutants, was increased about 10-fold when the strains carried R46, but the plasmid had no effect on the spontaneous reversion frequency of some other his missense mutations or of reversion rate of his frame-shift mutants (except for two uvrB derivatives of one single-base insertion mutant). The plasmid increased the ability of wild type, polA, and uvrB hosts to support plaque production by uv-irradiated phage, and made strain LT2 his G46 less sensitive to methyl methane sulfonate and to x rays and more responsive to the mutagenic effect of visible-light irradiation. R46 increased spontaneous reversion frequency of a his(amber) rec + strain, but had no such effect in its recA sublines. Since the plasmid in the absence of host recA function fails to produce its mutator effect, or to confer uv protection or to enhance uv mutagenesis, these three effects may be produced via some mechanism involved in recA-dependent deoxyribonucleic acid repair, perhaps by an increase in activity of the ''error-prone'' component of the inducible repair pathway

Arachnids are a highly successful group of land-dwelling arthropods. They are major contributors to modern terrestrial ecosystems, and have a deep evolutionary history. Whip spiders (Arachnida, Amblypygi), are one of the smaller arachnid orders with ca. 190 living species. Here we restudy one of the oldest fossil representatives of the group, Graeophonus anglicus Pocock, 1911 from the Late Carboniferous (Duckmantian, ca. 315 Ma) British Middle Coal Measures of the West Midlands, UK. Using X-ray microtomography, our principal aim was to resolve details of the limbs and mouthparts which would allow us to test whether this fossil belongs in the extant, relict family Paracharontidae; represented today by a single, blind species Paracharon caecus Hansen, 1921. Tomography reveals several novel and significant character states for G. anglicus; most notably in the chelicerae, pedipalps and walking legs. These allowed it to be scored into a phylogenetic analysis together with the recently described Paracharonopsis cambayensis Engel & Grimaldi, 2014 from the Eocene (ca. 52 Ma) Cambay amber, and Kronocharon prendinii Engel & Grimaldi, 2014 from Cretaceous (ca. 99 Ma) Burmese amber. We recovered relationships of the form ((Graeophonus (Paracharonopsis + Paracharon)) + (Charinus (Stygophrynus (Kronocharon (Charon (Musicodamon + Paraphrynus)))))). This tree largely reflects Peter Weygoldt's 1996 classification with its basic split into Paleoamblypygi and Euamblypygi lineages; we were able to score several of his characters for the first time in fossils. Our analysis draws into question the monophyly of the family Charontidae. Our data suggest that Graeophonus is a crown group amblypygid, and falls within a monophyletic Paleoamblypgi clade, but outside the family Paracharontidae (= Paracharonopsis + Paracharon). Our results also suggest a new placement for the Burmese amber genus Kronocharon, a node further down from its original position. Overall, we offer a

This autoethnographic study of femme friendship explores the connection and relationship between two femme lesbians-my femme friend Amber and myself. The shared experience of invisibility and the related perils and privileges that come with passing as straight enact a bond unlike any either of us have previously experienced. Meeting within the context of a polyamorous relationship adds a layer of complexity to our friendship that deepens the relationship. The story of our friendship showcases a specific sort of friendship, one grounded in theories of gender performance, sexuality, invisibility, and language.

In order to assist SSI in its reappraisal of the SFR safety case, QuantiSci has been appointed to develop a systematic framework within which to conduct the review of SKB's post-closure performance assessment (PA). The biosphere FEP list presented here was developed for use as reference material in conducting the review. SSI wishes to develop an independent PA capability for a time-dependent biosphere in preparation for the examination of the revised SFR safety case. This report documents the model development that has been undertaken by QuantiSci using the Amber computer code

The exceptionally preserved eyes of an Eocene dolichopodid fly contained in Baltic amber show remarkable detail, including features at micrometre and submicrometre levels. Based on this material, we establish that it is likely that the neural superposition compound eye existed as far back as 45 Ma. The ommatidia have an open rhabdom with a trapezoidal arrangement of seven rhabdomeres. Such a structure is uniquely characteristic of the neural superposition compound eye of present-day flies. Optical analysis reveals that the fossil eyes had a sophisticated and efficient optical system. PMID:19129103

A second female of mid-Cretaceous Burmaculex antiquus Borkent & Grimaldi, preserved in 99 myo Burmese amber, and the oldest known member of the Culicidae, is described in detail. Although generally opaque and distorted, some character states are added or refined. The discovery of well-developed scales on the legs shows that this feature must now be considered a synapomorphy of both the fossil and all extant members of the family. Previously described synapomorphies and further interpretation here confirm the phylogenetic position of this fossil as the sister group to extant and all known fossil Culicidae. It is placed in the new subfamily Burmaculicinae.

By Andrea Frydl, Contributing Writer The NCI at Frederick Employee Diversity Team (EDT) has prepared a new display that features a sample of the foreign films from the team’s collection in the Scientific Library. “Foreign films really help stimulate an awareness of different cultures and countries. I think it is a great celebration of diversity to have the Employee Diversity Team promote films from across the globe and make them available to our employees,” said Amber Elia, program analyst, NCI at Frederick Office of Scientific Operations, and member of the EDT.

In order to assist SSI in its reappraisal of the SFR safety case, QuantiSci has been appointed to develop a systematic framework within which to conduct the review of SKB's post-closure performance assessment (PA). The biosphere FEP list presented here was developed for use as reference material in conducting the review. SSI wishes to develop an independent PA capability for a time-dependent biosphere in preparation for the examination of the revised SFR safety case. This report documents the model development that has been undertaken by QuantiSci using the Amber computer code.

This paper presents the results of a model for the impact of potential contamination produced by radionuclide leaking due to long-term physical, chemical and hydrogeological processes occurring in a LILW repository and in the natural environment. The analysis contains a deterministic and also a probabilistic approach for uncertainty assessment. The input function, i.e., the source term was evaluated by using AMBER code and the entire analysis was accomplished by using GOLDSIM, a powerful tool to support probabilistic simulation in management and decision-making in engineering and science. The results obtained were compared to previous simulations and uncertainty analyses (FEHM). (authors)

Blackbody sources at near-ambient temperature are routinely used to calibrate infrared instruments used in remote sensing and thermal imaging applications to measure radiance and radiation temperature. The measured temperature of the blackbody and its calculated effective emissivity determine its radiance and radiation temperature according to Planck's law. The temperature measurement is generally accomplished with a contact thermometer which is calibrated against the International Temperature Scale (ITS-90). The ammonia heat-pipe blackbody of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany is a primary source standard working over a wide spectral range with low uncertainties, i.e. less than 33 mK at 10 µm in the temperature range from –60 °C to 50 °C. A more direct method of absolute radiance measurement is to use an absolutely calibrated radiometer, calibrated against a primary detector standard, the cryogenic radiometer. AMBER (Absolute Measurements of Blackbody Emitted Radiance) is an absolutely calibrated radiometer of the Optical Measurement Group of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK which was specially designed to determine the radiance and hence the radiation temperature of near-ambient-temperature blackbodies. When AMBER is operated at short wavelengths, where photodetectors offering good long-term stability exist, it derives its traceability through the cryogenic radiometer. However, available photodetectors operating in the 8 µm to 12 µm wavelength range offer poor long-term stability so when AMBER is used in this wavelength range, the NPL radiance temperature scale is based on a gallium fixed-point blackbody operating at 29.7646 °C (ITS-90). At other radiance temperatures, the NPL scale also relies on the gallium fixed-point blackbody but requires the calibration of the relative spectral irradiance responsivity of the AMBER radiometer (done against NPL spectral responsivity standards), measurement of the radiometric

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the main components of waste plastics. In order to understand the mechanism of PP thermal decomposition, the pyrolysis behaviour of PP has been simulated from 300 to 1000 K in periodic boundary conditions by molecular dynamic method, based on AMBER force field. The simulation results show that the pyrolysis process of PP can mostly be divided into three stages: low temperature pyrolysis stage, intermediate temperature stage and high temperature pyrolysis stage. PP pyrolysis is typical of random main-chain scission, and the possible formation mechanism of major pyrolysis products was analyzed.

Gems are well-compressed small pieces found in mineral deposits found inside earth. Pearls and amber are notable exceptions in that they are formed from organic materials. Most of the gemstones are crystalline. A crystalline mineral is formed by a distinct 3-dimensional atom and this is a unique characteristic of gemstones. They possess color, hardness, aesthetic beauty, clarity and they can be cut to give sparkle.According to David Marcum’s remarks in his book “The Dow Jones Irwin Guide to F...

This diploma thesis is focused on the importance of European trade routes and their links to tourism. It is divided into two main parts, theoretical and practical. The first part is a processed literary review on the history and development of ancient trade routes, as well as the development of trails in selected area, the development of transport and the oldest ways of traveling. The second part deals with selected Amber trail (specifically Břeclavská route in eastern Moravia), which is cons...

Based on a well-preserved specimen from Upper Eocene Baltic amber (Kaliningrad region, Russia), Microbregma waldwico sp. nov., the second fossil species of this genus, is described. The new species is similar to the extant Holarctic M. emarginatum (Duftschmid), 1825, and fossil M. sucinoemarginatum (Kuśka), 1992, but differs in its shorter abdominal ventrite 1 (about 0.43 length of ventrite 2) and larger body (5.1 mm). A key to species of the genus Microbregma is given, and a check-list of described fossil Ptinidae is provided. The fossil record of Ptinidae now includes 48 species in 27 genera and 8 subfamilies.

Recent ground- and space-based observations have shown dramatic longitudinal differences in equatorial ionospheric electrodynamics, such as enhanced generation of F-region plasma irregularities and the super fountain effect at low latitudes. For example, satellite observations have shown very unique equatorial ionospheric density structures in the African region. The African region is the longitude sector where the peak in large scale plasma depletion activity (zonal width, depletion level, and spacing) is maximal, in which no other region of the globe showed similar characteristics. Indeed, the most recent in situ density observations from the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite also reveal similar maximal density depletion activities in Africa. However, the dearth of ground-based instrumentation in the region makes it difficult to confirm the ground-based signatures of these unique equatorial ionospheric structures, ultimately leading the investigation of their physics into speculation. This initiated several open questions, which include: What are the possible governing mechanisms that create unique equatorial structures in Africa? In order to answer such open questions, recently limited progress has been made and very few ground-based instruments, including the AMBER magnetometers network, have been deployed in the region. One of many objectives of AMBER magnetometers network, in coordination with ground- and space-based GPS receiver observations, is to understand the fundamental electrodynamics that govern equatorial ionospheric motion, which includes the evolution and formation of equatorial anomaly. This paper presents initial results from the AMBER magnetometer network and compares electrodynamics results in the Africa sector with similar observations in the American sector. The electron density structure in response to the electrodynamics is also investigated using the available ground-based GPS receivers in the region as

Corticaria amberica sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Latridiidae) from Baltic amber is described and illustrated using the features of the male genitalia. To study these features, phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography was used for the first time with a member of this family. A literature-based checklist of fossil and subfossil Latridiidae is provided. The following new synonymy is established: Latridius alexeevi Bukejs, Kirejtshuk & Rücker, 2011 = Latridius usovae Sergi & Perkovsky, 2014 syn. nov. New fossil records for the species Latridius alexeevi Bukejs, Kirejtshuk & Rücker, Latridius jantaricus Borowiec, Revelieria groehni Sergi, Perkovsky & Reike, and Corticarina palaeominuta Reike are also presented.

A new atomistic structural model is developed here for graphene sheets based on the stiffnesses from the REBO potential. Using this model, the flexural vibration natural frequencies and buckling loads of rectangular single-layer graphene sheets of different sizes, chiralities and boundary conditions are calculated. The newly developed atomistic structural model is verified by comparing the calculated fundamental natural frequencies for small-sized graphene sheets with those obtained from ab initio density functional theory (DFT) frequency analysis. The vibration and buckling analysis results are also compared with those of an earlier atomistic structural model based on the AMBER potential as well as the equivalent continuum model for graphene sheets. Through this study, it is observed that graphene sheets display very slight anisotropic characteristics in flexural vibration and buckling. Also, it is shown that the atomistic structural model cannot be replaced by a classical equivalent continuum model such as a plate model. Most significantly, we verify that the new atomistic structural model based on the REBO potential predicts more accurate natural frequencies and buckling loads for graphene sheets, which are considerably lower than those predicted by the earlier atomistic structural model based on the AMBER potential.

Tyrosine sulfation is an important post-translational modification that occurs in higher eukaryotes and is involved in cell-cell communication, viral entry and adhesion. We describe a protocol for the heterologous expression of selectively tyrosine-sulfated proteins in Escherichia coli through the use of an expanded genetic code that co-translationally inserts sulfotyrosine in response to the amber nonsense codon, TAG. The components required for this process, an orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase specific for sulfotyrosine and its cognate orthogonal tRNA that recognizes the amber codon, are encoded on the plasmid pSUPAR6-L3-3SY, and their use, along with a simple chemical synthesis of sulfotyrosine, are outlined in this protocol. Specifically, the gene for a protein of interest is mutated such that the codon corresponding to the desired location of tyrosine sulfate is TAG. Co-transformation of an expression vector containing this gene and pSUPAR6-L3-3SY into an appropriate E. coli strain allows the overexpression of the site-specifically sulfated protein with high efficiency and fidelity. The resulting protein contains tyrosine sulfate at any location specified by a TAG codon, making this method significantly simpler and more versatile than competing methods such as in vitro enzymatic sulfation, chemical sulfation and peptide synthesis. Once the proper expression vectors are cloned, our protocol should allow the production of the desired sulfated proteins in <1 week.

To demonstrate the performance of a repository, the dose exposure to a human being due to nuclide releases from a repository should be evaluated and the results compared to the dose limit presented by the regulatory bodies. To evaluate a dose rate to an individual due to a long-term release of nuclides from a HLW repository, biosphere assessment models and their implemented codes such as ACBIO1 and ACBIO2 have been developed with the aid of AMBER during the last few years. BIOMASS methodology has been adopted for a HLW repository currently being considered in Korea, which has a similar concept to the Swedish KBS-3 HLW repository. Recently, not just only for verifying the purpose for biosphere assessment models but also for varying the possible alternatives to assess the consequences in a biosphere due to a HLW repository, another version of the assessment modesl has been newly developed in the frame of development programs for a total system performance assessment modeling tool by utilizing GoldSim. Through a current study, GoldSim approach for a biosphere modeling is introduced. Unlike AMBER by which a compartment scheme can be rather simply constructed with an appropriate transition rate between compartments, GoldSim was designed to facilitate the object-oriented modules by which specific models can be addressed in an additional manner, like solving jig saw puzzles

Participants performed a word-non-word discrimination task within a car control display emulated on a thin film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD). The task simulated an information read-out from a TFT-LCD-based instrument panel. Subsequently, participants performed a low-contrast object detection task that simulated the detection of objects during night-time driving. In experiment 1, words/non-words were presented black-on-white (positive polarity) or white-on-black (negative polarity). In experiments 2 and 3, display colour was additionally manipulated. A positive polarity advantage in the discrimination task was consistently observed. In contrast, positive displays interfered more than negative displays with subsequent detection. The detrimental after-effect of positive polarity displays was strong with white and blue, reduced with amber and absent with red displays. Subjective measures showed a preference for blue over red, but a slight advantage for amber over blue. Implications for TFT-LCD design are derived from the results. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: When using TFT-LCDs as car instrument panels, positive polarity red TFT-LCDs are very likely to lead to good instrument readability while at the same time minimising - relative to other colours - the negative effects of an illuminated display on low-contrast object detection during night-time driving.

Full Text Available Pyrrolysine (Pyl, the 22nd proteogenic amino acid, was restricted until recently to few organisms. Its translational use necessitates the presence of enzymes for synthesizing it from lysine, a dedicated amber stop codon suppressor tRNA, and a specific amino-acyl tRNA synthetase. The three genomes of the recently proposed Thermoplasmata-related 7th order of methanogens contain the complete genetic set for Pyl synthesis and its translational use. Here, we have analyzed the genomic features of the Pyl-coding system in these three genomes with those previously known from Bacteria and Archaea and analyzed the phylogeny of each component. This shows unique peculiarities, notably an amber tRNAPyl with an imperfect anticodon stem and a shortened tRNAPyl synthetase. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that a Pyl-coding system was present in the ancestor of the seventh order of methanogens and appears more closely related to Bacteria than to Methanosarcinaceae, suggesting the involvement of lateral gene transfer in the spreading of pyrrolysine between the two prokaryotic domains. We propose that the Pyl-coding system likely emerged once in Archaea, in a hydrogenotrophic and methanol-H2-dependent methylotrophic methanogen. The close relationship between methanogenesis and the Pyl system provides a possible example of expansion of a still evolving genetic code, shaped by metabolic requirements.

One of the most important issues in molecular dating studies concerns the incorporation of reliable fossil taxa into the phylogenies reconstructed from DNA sequence variation in extant taxa. Lichens are symbiotic associations between fungi and algae and/or cyanobacteria. Several lichen fossils have been used as minimum age constraints in recent studies concerning the diversification of the Ascomycota. Recent evolutionary studies of Lecanoromycetes, an almost exclusively lichen-forming class in the Ascomycota, have utilized the Eocene amber inclusion Alectoria succinic as a minimum age constraint. However, a re-investigation of the type material revealed that this inclusion in fact represents poorly preserved plant remains, most probably of a root. Consequently, this fossil cannot be used as evidence of the presence of the genus Alectoria (Parmeliaceae, Lecanorales) or any other lichens in the Paleogene. However, newly discovered inclusions from Paleogene Baltic and Bitterfeld amber verify that alectorioid morphologies in lichens were in existence by the Paleogene. The new fossils represent either a lineage within the alectorioid group or belong to the genus Oropogon. PMID:26053106

As a means of empowering consumers, nutrition labelling has become a widely discussed topic. Simplicity and uniformity of labelling systems are regarded as the prevailing demands from the consumer side. In the present study, we analyse the effects of the traffic light signposting scheme on consumers' food choices. In an online survey, respondents first rated the understandability of the traffic light signposting scheme. In a following conjoint experiment, they indicated which products they would select as the healthiest of the presented products, based on the nutritive information provided by the traffic light signposting scheme. A major German university. In total 2002 undergraduate students participated in the survey. Two-thirds (69 %) of the respondents were female and the majority of the respondents (70 %) were between 18 and 24 years old. Seventy-seven per cent of the participants indicated that they had a higher level of education. Overall, the participants rated the understandability of the traffic light nutrition signposting scheme fairly high (5.9 out of 7). Sugar and fat were found to be the most important attributes of the scheme. Participants placed greater emphases on a change in a product's nutrient characteristic from 'amber to 'red' compared with a change from 'green' to 'amber'. Our results confirm the signalling effect of colour coding as it helps reduce the complexity of decision making. Our findings shed new light on the ongoing discussion concerning appropriate and efficient nutrition labelling and provide interesting insights for further research as well as implications for public policy making.

Beta-hairpins are substructures found in proteins that can lend insight into more complex systems. Furthermore, the folding of beta-hairpins is a valuable test case for benchmarking experimental and theoretical methods. Here, we simulate the folding of CLN025, a miniprotein with a beta-hairpin structure, at its experimental melting temperature using a range of state-of-the-art protein force fields. We construct Markov state models in order to examine the thermodynamics, kinetics, mechanism, and rate-determining step of folding. Mechanistically, we find the folding process is rate-limited by the formation of the turn region hydrogen bonds, which occurs following the downhill hydrophobic collapse of the extended denatured protein. These results are presented in the context of established and contradictory theories of the beta-hairpin folding process. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the AMBER-FB15 force field, at this temperature, best describes the characteristics of the full experimental CLN025 conformational ensemble, while the AMBER ff99SB-ILDN and CHARMM22* force fields display a tendency to overstabilize the native state.

Acute exposure to light within the blue wavelengths has been shown to enhance alertness and vigilance, and lead to improved speed on reaction time tasks, possibly due to activation of the noradrenergic system. It remains unclear, however, whether the effects of blue light extend beyond simple alertness processes to also enhance other aspects of cognition, such as memory performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a thirty minute pulse of blue light versus placebo (amber light) exposure in healthy normally rested individuals in the morning during verbal memory consolidation (i.e., 1.5 hours after memory acquisition) using an abbreviated version of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II). At delayed recall, individuals who received blue light (n = 12) during the consolidation period showed significantly better long-delay verbal recall than individuals who received amber light exposure (n = 18), while controlling for the effects of general intelligence, depressive symptoms and habitual wake time. These findings extend previous work demonstrating the effect of blue light on brain activation and alertness to further demonstrate its effectiveness at facilitating better memory consolidation and subsequent retention of verbal material. Although preliminary, these findings point to a potential application of blue wavelength light to optimize memory performance in healthy populations. It remains to be determined whether blue light exposure may also enhance performance in clinical populations with memory deficits.

Many intersection accidents are related to drivers' inappropriate responses to an amber signal light, due to their misjudgment on the traffic situation and/or their aggressive behavior. To reduce intersection accidents of this nature, this paper proposes the Intersection Auxiliary Signal System (IAS). IAS can be installed at selected intersections, where information regarding signal phasing, intersection geometry and speed limit is transmitted from an ultrasonic/infra-red transmitter. An on-vehicle device receivers and processes the information, the provides the driver with explicit suggestions on the correct action to take (continue to pass or decelerate to stop), or warnings against on-going incorrect actions. IAS is expected to be more effective in suburban intersections, which are usually characterized by greater dimension, longer amber phases, and higher vehicle speeds. Both the intersection transmitters and the on-vehicle processors are expected to have simple structures and low costs. Simulation results show that IAS has a significant effect on reducing red signal violation, especially when there is no significant dilemma zones.

The disparity between reported and diagnosed food allergy makes robust diagnosis imperative. The allergy-focussed history is an important starting point, but published literature on its efficacy is sparse. Using a structured approach to connect symptoms, suspected foods and dietary intake, a multi-disciplinary task force of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology developed paediatric and adult diet history tools. Both tools are divided into stages using traffic light labelling (red, amber and green). The red stage requires the practitioner to gather relevant information on symptoms, atopic history, food triggers, foods eaten and nutritional issues. The amber stage facilitates interpretation of the responses to the red-stage questions, thus enabling the practitioner to prepare to move forward. The final green stage provides a summary template and test algorithm to support continuation down the diagnostic pathway. These tools will provide a standardised, practical approach to support food allergy diagnosis, ensuring that all relevant information is captured and interpreted in a robust manner. Future work is required to validate their use in diverse age groups, disease entities and in different countries, in order to account for differences in health care systems, food availability and dietary norms.

Ants are one of the most studied insects in the world; and the literature devoted to their origin and evolution, systematics, ecology, or interactions with plants, fungi and other organisms is prolific. However, no consensus yet exists on the age estimate of the first Formicidae or on the origin of their eusociality. We review the fossil and biogeographical record of all known Cretaceous ants. We discuss the possible origin of the Formicidae with emphasis on the most primitive subfamily Sphecomyrminae according to its distribution and the Early Cretaceous palaeogeography. And we review the evidence of true castes and eusociality of the early ants regarding their morphological features and their manner of preservation in amber. The mid-Cretaceous amber forest from south-western France where some of the oldest known ants lived, corresponded to a moist tropical forest close to the shore with a dominance of gymnosperm trees but where angiosperms (flowering plants) were already diversified. This palaeoenvironmental reconstruction supports an initial radiation of ants in forest ground litter coincident with the rise of angiosperms, as recently proposed as an ecological explanation for their origin and successful evolution.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Humanitarian relief agencies use scales to assess levels of critical food shortage to efficiently target and allocate food to the neediest. These scales are often labor-intensive. A lesser used approach is assessing gathering and consumption of wild food plants. This gathering per se is not a reliable signal of emerging food stress. However, the gathering and consumption of some specific plant species could be considered markers of food shortage, as it indicates that people are compelled to eat very poor or even health-threatening food. Methods We used the traffic light metaphor to indicate normal (green, alarmingly low (amber and fully depleted (red food supplies and identified these conditions for Konso (Ethiopia on the basis of wild food plants (WFPs, crop parts (crop parts not used for human consumption under normal conditions; CPs and crop residues (CRs being gathered and consumed. Plant specimens were collected for expert identification and deposition in the National Herbarium. Two hundred twenty individual households free-listed WFPs, CPs, and CRs gathered and consumed during times of food stress. Through focus group discussions, the species list from the free-listing that was further enriched through key informants interviews and own field observations was categorized into species used for green, amber and red conditions. Results The study identified 113 WFPs (120 products/food items whose gathering and consumption reflect the three traffic light metaphors: red, amber and green. We identified 25 food items for the red, 30 food items for the amber and 65 food items for the green metaphor. We also obtained reliable information on 21 different products/food items (from 17 crops normally not consumed as food, reflecting the red or amber metaphor and 10 crop residues (from various crops, plus one recycled stuff which are used as emergency foods in the study area clearly indicating the severity of food stress (red metaphor

Aims: We present near-infrared interferometry of the carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star R Sculptoris (R Scl). Methods: We employ medium spectral resolution K-band interferometry obtained with the instrument AMBER at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and H-band low spectral resolution interferometric imaging observations obtained with the VLTI instrument PIONIER. We compare our data to a recent grid of dynamic atmosphere and wind models. We compare derived fundamental parameters to stellar evolution models. Results: The visibility data indicate a broadly circular resolved stellar disk with a complex substructure. The observed AMBER squared visibility values show drops at the positions of CO and CN bands, indicating that these lines form in extended layers above the photosphere. The AMBER visibility values are best fit by a model without a wind. The PIONIER data are consistent with the same model. We obtain a Rosseland angular diameter of 8.9 ± 0.3 mas, corresponding to a Rosseland radius of 355 ± 55 R⊙, an effective temperature of 2640 ± 80 K, and a luminosity of log L/L⊙ = 3.74 ± 0.18. These parameters match evolutionary tracks of initial mass 1.5 ± 0.5 M⊙ and current mass 1.3 ± 0.7 M⊙. The reconstructed PIONIER images exhibit a complex structure within the stellar disk including a dominant bright spot located at the western part of the stellar disk. The spot has an H-band peak intensity of 40% to 60% above the average intensity of the limb-darkening-corrected stellar disk. The contrast between the minimum and maximum intensity on the stellar disk is about 1:2.5. Conclusions: Our observations are broadly consistent with predictions by dynamic atmosphere and wind models, although models with wind appear to have a circumstellar envelope that is too extended compared to our observations. The detected complex structure within the stellar disk is most likely caused by giant convection cells, resulting in large-scale shock fronts

The systems experience gained from 17 years of DC-10 operation was used during the design of the MD-11 to automate system operation and reduce crew workload. All functions, from preflight to shutdown at the termination of flight, require little input from the crew. The MD-11 aircraft systems are monitored for proper operation by the Aircraft Systems Controllers (ASC). In most cases, system reconfiguration as a result of a malfunction is automated. Manual input is required for irreversible actions such as engine shutdown, fuel dump, fire agent discharge, or Integrated Drive Generator (IDG) disconnect. During normal operations, when the cockpit is configured for flight, all annunciators on the overhead panel will be extinguished. This Dark Cockpit immediately confirms to the crew that the panels are correctly configured and that no abnormalities are present. Primary systems annunciations are shown in text on the Alert Area of the Engine and Alert Display (EAD). This eliminates the need to scan the overhead. The MD-11 aircraft systems can be manually controlled from the overhead area of the cockpit. The center portion of the overhead panel is composed of the primary aircraft systems panels, which include FUEL, AIR, Electrical (ELEC) and Hydraulic (HYD) systems, which are easily accessible from both flight crew positions. Each Aircraft Systems Controller (ASC) has two automatic channels and a manual mode. All rectangular lights are annunciators. All square lights are combined switches and annunciators called switch/lights. Red switch/lights on the overhead (Level 3 alerts) are for conditions requiring immediate crew action. Amber (Level 2 or Level 1 alerts) indicates a fault or switch out of position requiring awareness or crew interaction. Overhead switches used in normal operating conditions will illuminate blue when in use (Level 0 alerts) such as WING ANTI-ICE - ON. An overhead switch/light with BLACK LETTERING on an amber or red background indicates a system

Subsequent to preliminary investigations by the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District (GGB), in coordination with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the GATEWAY Demonstration program was asked to evaluate the technical feasibility of replacing existing roadway lighting on the bridge with products utilizing LED technology. GGB and PG&E also indicated interest in induction (i.e., electrodeless fluorescent) technology, since both light source types feature rated lifetimes significantly exceeding those of the existing high-pressure sodium (HPS) and low-pressure sodium (LPS) products. The goal of the study was to identify any solutions which would reduce energy use and maintenance without compromising the quantity or quality of existing illumination. Products used for roadway lighting on the historic bridge must be installed within the existing amber-lensed shoebox-style luminaire housings. It was determined that induction technology does not appear to represent a viable alternative for the roadway luminaires in this application; any energy savings would be attributable to a reduction in light levels. Although no suitable LED retrofit kits were identified for installation within existing luminaire housings, several complete LED luminaires were found to offer energy savings of 6-18%, suggesting custom LED retrofit kits could be developed to match or exceed the performance of the existing shoeboxes. Luminaires utilizing ceramic metal halide (CMH) were also evaluated, and some were found to offer 28% energy savings, but these products might actually increase maintenance due to the shorter rated lamp life. Plasma technology was evaluated, as well, but no suitable products were identified. Analysis provided in this report was completed in May 2012. Although LED technologies are expected to become increasingly viable over time, and product mock-ups may reveal near-term solutions, some options not currently considered by GGB may ultimately merit evaluation. For

The stability of carotenoids recovered from shrimp waste using organic solvents and vegetable oils as affected by antioxidants and pigment carriers was evaluated during storage under different conditions. Solvent extracted carotenoid incorporated into alginate and starch as carriers was stored in metallised polyester and polypropylene pouches. Oil extracted carotenoids were stored in transparent and amber bottles. Also the use of recovered pigments as colorants in fish sausage was evaluated. Antioxidants, packaging material and storage period had a significant effect (p≤0.001) on the reduction of carotenoid content, while type of carrier had marginal effect (p≥0.05) on solvent extracted carotenoids during storage. Carotenoid content in pigmented oil was significantly affected by antioxidants (p≤0.001), packaging material (p≤0.05) and storage period (p≤0.001). Addition of carotenoid to the sausage enhanced the sensory colour, flavour and overall quality score of sausage and the added carotenoid was stable during processing.

Full Text Available An annotated catalogue of the type and non-type scutigeromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scutigeromorpha held in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is presented. The collection includes material from throughout the world, with a focus on former German colonies. Notes on collectors and localities are provided where appropriate. Type material for 42 Recent species or subspecies is present; all described in the early 20th century by Karl Verhoeff. However, only seven of these names remain valid with the other thirty-five currently regarded as junior synonyms. The collection in its entirety includes material from nineteen currently valid species, making up about 20% of the known world fauna. The type of a fossil species in Eocene Baltic amber is also listed for completeness.

MDWeb and MDMoby constitute a web-based platform to help access to molecular dynamics (MD) in the standard and high-throughput regime. The platform provides tools to prepare systems from PDB structures mimicking the procedures followed by human experts. It provides inputs and can send simulations for three of the most popular MD packages (Amber, NAMD and Gromacs). Tools for analysis of trajectories, either provided by the user or retrieved from our MoDEL database (http://mmb.pcb.ub.es/MoDEL) are also incorporated. The platform has two ways of access, a set of web-services based on the BioMoby framework (MDMoby), programmatically accessible and a web portal (MDWeb). http://mmb.irbbarcelona.org/MDWeb; additional information and methodology details can be found at the web site ( http://mmb.irbbarcelona.org/MDWeb/help.php)

Full Text Available Emergency alert systems serve as a critical link in the chain of crisis communication, and they are essential to minimize loss during emergencies. Acts of terrorism and violence, chemical spills, amber alerts, nuclear facility problems, weather-related emergencies, flu pandemics, and other emergencies all require those responsible such as government officials, building managers, and university administrators to be able to quickly and reliably distribute emergency information to the public. This paper presents our design of a deep-learning-based emergency warning system. The proposed system is considered suitable for application in existing infrastructure such as closed-circuit television and other monitoring devices. The experimental results show that in most cases, our system immediately detects emergencies such as car accidents and natural disasters.

The quantum instanton approximation is used to compute kinetic isotope effects for intramolecular hydrogen transfer in cis-1,3-pentadiene. Due to the importance of skeleton motions, this system with 13 atoms is a simple prototype for hydrogen transfer in enzymatic reactions. The calculation is carried out using thermodynamic integration with respect to the mass of the isotopes and a path integral Monte Carlo evaluation of relevant thermodynamic quantities. Efficient 'virial' estimators are derived for the logarithmic derivatives of the partition function and the delta-delta correlation functions. These estimators require significantly fewer Monte Carlo samples since their statistical error does not increase with the number of discrete time slices in the path integral. The calculation treats all 39 degrees of freedom quantum-mechanically and uses an empirical valence bond potential based on a modified general AMBER force field.

Pyrrolysine (Pyl), the 22nd canonical amino acid, is only decoded and synthesized by a limited number of organisms in the domains Archaea and Bacteria. Pyl is encoded by the amber codon UAG, typically a stop codon. To date, all known Pyl-decoding archaea are able to carry out methylotrophic methanogenesis. The functionality of methylamine methyltransferases, an important component of corrinoid-dependent methyltransfer reactions, depends on the presence of Pyl. Here, we present a putative pyl gene cluster obtained from single-cell genomes of the archaeal Mediterranean Sea Brine Lakes group 1 (MSBL1) from the Red Sea. Functional annotation of the MSBL1 single cell amplified genomes (SAGs) also revealed a complete corrinoid-dependent methyl-transfer pathway suggesting that members of MSBL1 may possibly be capable of synthesizing Pyl and metabolizing methylated amines. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

An analytical approach is presented to predict the elastic properties of a monolayer graphene nanosheet based on interatomic potential energy and continuum mechanics. The elastic extension and torsional springs are utilized to simulate the stretching and angle variation of carbon-carbon bond, respectively. The constitutive equation of the graphene nanosheet is derived by using the strain energy density, and the analytical formulations for nonzero elastic constants are obtained. The in-plane elastic properties of the monolayer graphene nanosheet are proved to be anisotropic. In addition, Young's moduli, Poisson's ratios and shear modulus of the monolayer graphene nanosheet are calculated according to the force constants derived from Morse potential and AMBER force field, respectively, and they were proved to be chirality-dependent. The comparison with experimental results shows a very agreement.

Currently, adverse drug reaction (ADR) causality and severity are assessed using different systems but there is no standard method to combine the results. In this work, a combined ADR causality and severity assessment system, including an online version, was developed. Logical rules were defined to translate the score obtained from the system into three alert zones: green, amber, and red. The alert zones are useful for triaging ADR cases as they help define the seriousness of the ADR and the urgency of the responses required. This new scoring system may be useful for clinicians, investigators, and regulators seeking information on the likelihood of a drug causing an adverse reaction, and whether an adverse reaction is sufficiently dangerous for the drug to be withheld or undergo further investigation.

Dentinogenesis imperfect a is a dominant autosomal hereditary disorder of dentin formation that affects the deciduous and permanent teeth. Its etiology is characterized by inadequate cell differentiation during odontogenesis. The clinical characteristics of dentinogenesis imperfect a are discolored teeth with a translucency that varies from gray to brown or amber. Radiographically, the teeth exhibit pulp obliteration, thin and short roots, bell-shaped crowns, and periapical bone rarefaction. The aim of this report was to present a case of dentinogenesis imperfect a type II that was followed up over a 17-year period. This report also presents scanning electron microscopy images of the enamel and dentin, showing that both were altered in the affected teeth. The disease characteristics and the treatments that were administered are reported in this study to guide dentists with respect to the need for early diagnosis and adequate follow-up to avoid major sequelae.

The development of the inventory and synthetic study of collyrium stamps, commonly known as "oculist's stamps", includes the physico-chemical analysis of rare stamped collyrium's remains. The fragments of collyrium which were discovered in a tomb of Morlungo (Veneto) are all the more remarkable as the remedy's name stamped on two of them remains enigmatic at the moment and because of the association in a funerary context with an-other thirty-five finds. More specifically, they were discovered near surgical bronze instruments, a large amount of amber, a portable sundial and a seal box. Recent archaeological, textual and technological data thus make the study of the remains of collyriums of Morlungo particularly interesting for the history of medicine.

S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) and other sulfonium ions play central roles in the metabolism of all organisms. The conformational preferences of AdoMet and two other biologically important sulfonium ions, S-methylmethionine and dimethylsulfonioproprionic acid, have been investigated by NMR...... and computational studies. Molecular mechanics parameters for the sulfonium center have been developed for the AMBER force field to permit analysis of NMR results and to enable comparison of the relative energies of the different conformations of AdoMet that have been found in crystal structures of complexes...... with proteins. S-Methylmethionine and S-dimethylsulfonioproprionate adopt a variety of conformations in aqueous solution; a conformation with an electrostatic interaction between the sulfonium sulfur and the carboxylate group is not noticeably favored, in contrast to the preferred conformation found by in vacuo...

Cypriol oil, the essential oil from Cyperus scariosus R.Br., has been investigated to reveal minor nitrogen-containing molecules and minor components responsible for the odor. A total of 21 nitrogenous components are reported, of which epi-guaipyridine (32 mg/kg), guaia-9,11-dienpyridine (9 mg/kg), and cananodine (10 mg/kg) were the most abundant. A new ketone, cyperen-8-one, with a significant woody, ambery odor could also be isolated and identified along with a novel lactone, cyperolactone, and an alcohol. Rotundone was found to have the highest odor-activity value of the measured compounds and, together with the other ketones, contributes to the woody-amber character of cypriol oil.

In 2007 and 2009 Environmental Research Letters published focus issues (edited by Pavel Groisman and Amber J Soja) made up of work carried out by NEESPI participants. Here, we present the content of those focus issues as an invaluable resource for researchers working in the NEESPI study area. The first of the two issues, published in 2007 with title 'Northern Hemisphere High Latitude Climate and Environmental Change', presents a diverse collection of articles that are assembled into five groups devoted to studies of climate and hydrology, land cover and land use, the biogeochemical cycle and its feedbacks, the cryosphere, and human dimensions. The second issue, published in 2009, with title 'Climatic and Environmental Change in Northern Eurasia' presents diverse, assorted studies of different aspects of contemporary change, representing the diversity of climates and ecosystems across Northern Eurasia.

A thermal imaging system has been installed on the RFX at Consorzio RFX to investigate the phenomenology of the plasma wall interactions. The infrared camera, model Amber AE4128, is based on a 128×128 InSb focal plane array detector and operates in the range of 4.5-5 μm with an acquisition rate of 217 Hz and 12 bit of dynamic range. The system, absolutely calibrated, is sensitive from room temperature up to 3000 °C, with different setups. The experimental data are compared with the numerical results obtained by means of transient thermal analyses carried out on analytical and finite element models of a graphite tile.

A novel method of atomistic modelling and characterization of both pure ceramide and mixed lipid bilayers is being developed, using only the General Amber ForceField. Lipid bilayers modelled as pure ceramides adopt hexagonal packing after equilibration, and the area per lipid and bilayer thickness are consistent with previously reported theoretical results. Mixed lipid bilayers are modelled as a combination of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids. This model is shown to be stable after equilibration. Green tea extract, also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is introduced as a spherical cluster on the surface of the mixed lipid bilayer. It is demonstrated that the cluster is able to bind to the bilayers as a cluster without diffusing into the surrounding water.

Here, we first present a follow-up to a previous work by our group on the problematic of molecular dynamics simulations of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) [ Henriques et al. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2015 , 11 , 3420 - 3431 ], using the recently developed TIP4P-D water model. When used in conjunction with the standard AMBER ff99SB-ILDN force field and applied to the simulation of Histatin 5, our IDP model, we obtain results which are in excellent agreement with the best performing IDP-suitable force field from the earlier study and with experiment. We then assess the representativeness of the IDP models used in these and similar studies, finding that most are too short in comparison to the average IDP and contain a bias toward hydrophilic amino acid residues. Moreover, several key order- and disorder-promoting residues are also found to be misrepresented. It seems appropriate for future studies to address these issues.

Betelgeuse (α Ori) is a M2Iab star, prototype for the red supergiant class. These stars contributes to the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium (ISM) through their heavy mass loss and thanks to the IIP type supernova of whom they are the progenitors. With its proximity (˜ 130 pc) and thus of its large apparent diameter (˜ 42 mas), Betelgeuse is a good candidate for a detailed study of the atmosphere of a red supergiant Our analysis of VLTI/AMBER data allowed to characterize the close environment of the star: its molecular envelope (MOLsphere). Using a thin layer model at le Local Thermodynamical Equilibrium (LTE), we obtained its angular diameter, temperature as well as the column densities for water vapor and carbon monoxide (CO). For the K band continuum, we reconstructed a one dimension image (profile) and we quantified the inhomogeneities of the photosphere.

Full Text Available The Diptera (true flies is one of the most species-abundant orders of Insecta, and it is also among the most important flower-visiting insects. Dipteran fossils are abundant in the Mesozoic, especially in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Here, we review the fossil record and early evolution of some Mesozoic lower brachyceran flies together with new records in Burmese amber, including Tabanidae, Nemestrinidae, Bombyliidae, Eremochaetidae, and Zhangsolvidae. The fossil records reveal that some flower-visiting groups had diversified during the mid-Cretaceous, consistent with the rise of angiosperms to widespread floristic dominance. These brachyceran groups played an important role in the origin of co-evolutionary relationships with basal angiosperms. Moreover, the rise of angiosperms not only improved the diversity of flower-visiting flies, but also advanced the turnover and evolution of other specialized flies.

Our understanding of the evolution of life on Earth is limited by the imperfection of the fossil record. One reason for this imperfect record is that organisms without hard parts, such as bones, shells, and wood, have a very low potential to enter the fossil record. Occasionally, however......, exceptional fossil deposits that preserve soft-bodied organisms provide a rare glimpse of the true biodiversity during past periods of Earth history. We here present an extraordinary find of a fossil ciliate that is encased inside the wall layer of a more than 200 Ma leech cocoon from Antarctica...... ecosystems worldwide, but so far have lacked any fossil record. This discovery offers a glimpse of ancient soft-bodied protozoan biotas, and also highlights the potential of clitellate cocoons as microscopic "conservation traps" comparable to amber....

Parasitoidism is a key innovation in insect evolution, and parasitoid insects, nowadays, play a significant role in structuring ecological communities. Despite their diversity and ecological impact, little is known about the early evolution and ecology of parasitoid insects, especially parasitoid true flies (Diptera). Here, we describe a bizarre fly, Zhenia xiai gen. et sp. nov., from Late Cretaceous Burmese amber (about 99 million years old) that represents the latest occurrence of the family Eremochaetidae. Z. xiai is an endoparasitoid insect as evidenced by a highly developed, hypodermic-like ovipositor formed by abdominal tergites VIII + IX that was used for injecting eggs into hosts and enlarged tridactylous claws supposedly for clasping hosts. Our results suggest that eremochaetids are among the earliest definite records of parasitoid insects. Our findings reveal an unexpected morphological specialization of flies and broaden our understanding of the evolution and diversity of ancient parasitoid insects.

A series of red-shifted azobenzene amino acids were synthesized in moderate-to-excellent yields via a two-step procedure in which tyrosine derivatives were first oxidized to the corresponding quinonoidal spirolactones followed by ceric ammonium nitrate-catalyzed azo formation with the substituted phenylhydrazines. The resulting azobenzene-alanine derivatives exhibited efficient trans/cis photoswitching upon irradiation with a blue (448 nm) or green (530 nm) LED light. Moreover, nine superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) mutants carrying the azobenzene-alanine analogues were expressed in E. coli in good yields via amber codon suppression with an orthogonal tRNA/PylRS pair, and one of the mutants showed durable photoswitching with the LED light.

Full Text Available “Colatura d’alici”is a speciality made in Cetara, a clear ,amber-coloured liquid that has sharp taste, prepared with the juice coming from the anchovy salting process. The anchovies are caught in the Gulf of Salerno between the mounths of March and July. The colatura is ready at the beginning of December. Histamine poisoning, a food-borne chemical intoxication caused by the consumption of food containing toxic levels of histamine, is a syndrome commonly associated with the consumption of seafood beloging to the Engraulidae and some fish families. Histamine and biogenic amine levels were determined in “colatura di alici di Cetara”. The amine was separated in a HPLC/FL system. Histamine level were lower than the law limits only in one of the examinated products. A reduction of the histamine and amine levels in colatura cetarese can be obtained using a determinate salt concentrations and changing way of seasoning.

This paper summarizes the work done and the achievements reached in the Novi Han radioactive waste repository safety assessment within the IAEA Model Project 'Increasing the safety of Novi Han radioactive waste repository BUL 4/005'. The overall safety assessment has a wide context, but the work reported here relates only to some details and results concerning the development and implementation of the appropriate methodology approach, model and computer code used for the calculations. Different steps and procedures are included for a better practical understanding of the obtained results during the safety assessment performance. The methodology approach is widely based on an international experience in safety analysis and implemented for evaluation computer code AMBER, which is one of the recommended from the safety assessments experts. (author)

The purpose of the Infrared Source Test (IRST) is to demonstrate the ability to track a ground target with an infrared sensor from an airplane. The system is being developed within the Advance Technology Program`s Theater Missile Defense/Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) section. The IRST payload consists of an Amber Radiance 1 infrared camera system, a computer, a gimbaled mirror, and a hard disk. The processor is a custom R3000 CPU board made by Risq Modular Systems, Inc. for LLNL. The board has ethernet, SCSI, parallel I/O, and serial ports, a DMA channel, a video (frame buffer) interface, and eight MBytes of main memory. The real-time operating system VxWorks has been ported to the processor. The application code is written in C on a host SUN 4 UNIX workstation. The IRST is the result of a combined effort by physicists, electrical and mechanical engineers, and computer scientists.

A large number of amino acids other than the canonical amino acids can now be easily incorporated in vivo into proteins at genetically encoded positions. The technology requires an orthogonal tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair specific for the unnatural amino acid that is added to the media while a TAG amber or frame shift codon specifies the incorporation site in the protein to be studied. These unnatural amino acids can be isotopically labeled and provide unique opportunities for site-specific labeling of proteins for NMR studies. In this perspective, we discuss these opportunities including new photocaged unnatural amino acids, outline usage of metal chelating and spin-labeled unnatural amino acids and expand the approach to in-cell NMR experiments.

Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors play significant roles in multiple biological processes in metazoan cells. In recent work, we showed that three orthologous HLH families, pearl, amber, and peridot, have apparently been lost in the Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Homo sapiens lineages. To further address the gain and loss of bHLH proteins during bilaterian evolution, we examined the genome of the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, which has recently been sequenced. We characterized the putative full set 65 bHLH genes and showed that genes previously categorized into the orthologous family PTFb, actually fall into two distinct orthologous families, 48-related-1 and 48-related-2. We also identified a novel orthologous family, clockwork orange. Based on these newly identified orthologous family members and on orphan bHLH factors, we propose that genes encoding bHLH factors in bilaterians are not as evolutionarily stable as previously thought.

The natural products synthesized by organisms that were living a long time ago gave rise to their molecular fossils. These can consist of either the original unchanged compounds or they may undergo peripheral transformations in which their skeletons remain intact. In cases when molecular fossils can be traced to their organismic source, they are termed "geological biomarkers".This contribution describes apolar and polar molecular fossils and, in particular biomarkers, along the lines usually followed in organic chemistry textbooks, and points to their bioprecursors when available. Thus, the apolar compounds are divided in linear and branched alkanes followed by alicyclic compounds and aromatic and heterocyclic molecules, and, in particular, the geoporphyrins. The polar molecular fossils contain as functional groups or constituent units ethers, alcohols, phenols, carbonyl groups, flavonoids, quinones, and acids, or are polymers like kerogen, amber, melanin, proteins, or nucleic acids. The final sections discuss the methodology used and the fundamental processes encountered by the biomolecules described, including diagenesis, catagenesis, and metagenesis.

The use of residues presents interesting possibilities for obtaining eco-efficient concretes. Research has investigated the use of glass residue in Portland cement composite, whether as an aggregate or a supplementary material. However, there is still no consensus on the influence of the chemical composition of glass on the behaviour of the composites in which it is used. This paper aims to analyse the influence of this composition on the performance of cement composites produced with microparticles of colourless and amber glass. Pozzolanicity was assessed by means of direct tests (modified Chapelle and electrical conductivity) and indirect tests (chemical characterization, X-ray diffraction, thermo analysis and pozzolanic activity index). Most of the results show that microparticles of both types of glass display pozzolanic activity, with no significant differences between them. This indicates the potential for the use of glass microparticles as a supplementary material in cement composites. (author)

Bi 12SiO 20 single crystals were successfully grown by the pulling-down method with continuous feeding. As-grown crystals were amber in color and transparent, and had no cracks or inclusions. A crystal with homogeneous composition was obtained from Bi-rich feed powder having a composition of 14.1 mol% SiO 2, whereas precipitates of Bi 4Si 3O 12 were observed on the surface of a crystal grown with stoichiometric powder. The shape of the solid-liquid interface during the crystal growth was estimated to be almost flat, which was favorable to avoid core formation. Average dislocation density was 4×10 3/cm 2, which was comparable to that of Bi 12SiO 20 crystals grown by the Czochralski method.

Since ancient times, creativity, genius, or special artistic accomplishments have been a topic of curiosity. The case presentation that follows describes a painters resistance to success. The patient's developmental history associated with issues of maternal deprivation and paternal abuse had an effect in her artistic creation. Furthermore, her difficulties with achievement and acknowledgment of audience attention were defenses to sabotage her creativity. Her economic struggle was another ingredient used defensively for fear of success. As suggested by Ambers and Burke (2000), artistically inclined individuals have greater fluidity of self-other boundaries, more preoccupation with early separation-individuation issues and are more vulnerable to self-fragmentations anxiety. The patient presented manifests some of these symptoms. However, needing to work full-time to support herself, and painting only in spare time, added to her resistances. V's frustrations, anxieties, and guilt related to her creation are explored.

A fuel formula that includes a homogenous mixture of benzine, aromatic ether oils, perfume and other perfuming agents, as well as the lowest possible aliphatic alcohol as a component solvent, surfactant, and possibly, a soluble pigment that colors the formula an appropriate color. This formula is used as an aromatic fuel for cigarette lights. The ether oils can be musk, amber, camomille, lavender, mint, anise, rose, camphor, and other aromatic oils; the perfuming agents are: geraniol, linalool, menthol, camphor, benzyl or phenetyl alcohols, phenylacetaldehyde, vanillin, coumarin, and so forth; the pigments are: beta-carotene, sudan dyes, etc.; the low aliphatic alcohols are EtOH, iso-PrOH. Example: 70 parts benzine, 10 parts EtOH, 15 parts oxide mezithylene and 5 parts borneol form a clear liquid that has a camphor aroma when it is lit.

Full Text Available An introduction and partial edition of the Marcos Fernández’ work Olla podrida a la española (Amberes [Amsterdam]: Felipe Van Eyck, 1655, text whose literary value has been recently pointed at last, as well as its interesting influence from Cervantes. In order to be accurate, which is edited is the last chapter with a burlesque etimology of the word hidalgo and the cast of a relative to Sancho Panza, called Toncho Panza. The text is showcased as a menipean satire in which grammatical and political views of the time are criticized, for instance the work by César Oudin or by Saavedra Fajardo. The editing criteria look for a new intermediate path between graphic conservatism (necessary in a inductive treaty of orthography such as the Olla podrida and modernization, which soothes the reading and understanding of the text, with the needed supply of linguistic and historical-literary notes.

Safety assessments are used to evaluate the performance of a radioactive waste disposal facility and its impact on human health and the environment. This paper presents the overall information and methodology to carry out the safety assessment for a long term performance of a disposal system. A case study was also conducted to gain hands-on experience in the development and justification of scenarios, the formulation and implementation of models and the analysis of results. AMBER code using compartmental modeling approach was used to represent the migration and fate of contaminants in this training. This safety assessment is purely illustrative and it serves as a starting point for each development stage of a disposal facility. This assessment ultimately becomes more detail and specific as the facility evolves. (Author)

We report exceptional preservation of fossil wood buried deeply in a kimberlite pipe that intruded northwestern Canada's Slave Province 53.3±0.6 million years ago (Ma), revealed during excavation of diamond source rock. The wood originated from forest surrounding the eruption zone and collapsed into the diatreme before resettling in volcaniclastic kimberlite to depths >300 m, where it was mummified in a sterile environment. Anatomy of the unpermineralized wood permits conclusive identification to the genus Metasequoia (Cupressaceae). The wood yields genuine cellulose and occluded amber, both of which have been characterized spectroscopically and isotopically. From cellulose δ(18)O and δ(2)H measurements, we infer that Early Eocene paleoclimates in the western Canadian subarctic were 12-17°C warmer and four times wetter than present. Canadian kimberlites offer Lagerstätte-quality preservation of wood from a region with limited alternate sources of paleobotanical information.

Program for the evaluation of a high-level waste repository which is conceptually modeled. During the last few years, programs developed with the aid of AMBER and GoldSim by which nuclide transports in the near- and far-field of a repository as well as transport through the biosphere under various normal and disruptive release scenarios could be modeled and evaluated, have been continuously demonstrated. To show its usability, as similarly done for the natural groundwater flow scheme, influence of a possible disruptive event on a nuclide release behavior from an HLW repository system caused naturally due to an earthquake has been investigated and illustrated with the newly developed GoldSim program

Recently several total system performance assessment (TSPA) programs, called 'template' programs, ready for the safety assessment of radioactive waste repository systems which are conceptually modeled have been developed by utilizing GoldSim and AMBER at KAERI. It is generally believed that chelating agents (chelators) that could be disposed of together with radioactive wastes in the repository and natural colloids available in the geological media affect on nuclides by enhancing their transport in the geological media. A simple GoldSim module to evaluate such quantitative effects, by which colloid and chelator-facilitated nuclide release cases could be modeled and evaluated is introduced. Effects of the chelators alone are illustrated with the case associated with well pumping scenario in a hypothetical repository system

Recently several template programs ready for the safety assessment of a high-level radioactive waste repository (HLW) and a low- and intermediate level radioactive waste repository (LILW) systems, that are conceptually modeled, have been developed by utilizing GoldSim and AMBER at KAERI. During the last few years, such template programs have been utilized for the evaluation of nuclide transports in the nearand far-field of a repository as well as transport through the biosphere under various normal and disruptive release scenarios with assumed data. The GoldSim program, another template program by which influence due to a well located very near to the repository has been modeled and evaluated for an assumed case in order to simulate the worst exposure scenario. This seems very useful to evaluate an accidental event a long time after closure of the repository has been developed and illustrated

Graphene Oxide (GO) has been shown to exhibit properties that are useful in applications such as biomedical imaging, biological sensors, and drug delivery. The binding properties of biomolecules at the surface of GO can provide insight into the potential biocompatibility of GO. Here we assess the intrinsic affinity of amino acids to GO by simulating their adsorption onto a GO surface. The simulation is done using Amber03 force-field molecular dynamics in explicit water. The emphasis is placed on developing an atomic charge model for GO. The adsorption energies are computed using atomic charges obtained from an ab initio electrostatic potential based method. The charges reported here are suitable for simulating peptide adsorption to GO.

Sactipeptides are peptide-derived natural products that are processed by remarkable, radical-mediated cysteine sulfur to α-carbon coupling reactions. The resulting sactionine thioether linkages give rise to the unique defined structures and concomitant biological activities of sactipeptides. An E. coli heterologous expression system, based on the biosynthesis of one such sactipeptide, subtilosin A, is described and this expression system is exploited to probe the promiscuity of the subtilosin A sactionine bond-forming enzyme, AlbA. These efforts allowed the facile expression and isolation of a small library of mutant sactipeptides based on the subtilosin A precursor peptide, demonstrating broad substrate promiscuity where none was previously known. Importantly, we show that the positions of the sactionine linkages can be moved, giving rise to new, unnatural sactipeptide structures. E. coli heterologous expression also allowed incorporation of unnatural amino acids into sactipeptides by means of amber-suppression technology, potentially opening up new chemistry and new applications for unnatural sactipeptides.

This article describes the application of our distributed computing framework for crystal structure prediction (CSP) the modified genetic algorithms for crystal and cluster prediction (MGAC), to predict the crystal structure of flexible molecules using the general Amber force field (GAFF) and the CHARMM program. The MGAC distributed computing framework includes a series of tightly integrated computer programs for generating the molecule's force field, sampling crystal structures using a distributed parallel genetic algorithm and local energy minimization of the structures followed by the classifying, sorting, and archiving of the most relevant structures. Our results indicate that the method can consistently find the experimentally known crystal structures of flexible molecules, but the number of missing structures and poor ranking observed in some crystals show the need for further improvement of the potential. Copyright 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract Nanobodies can be seen as next‐generation tools for the recognition and modulation of antigens that are inaccessible to conventional antibodies. Due to their compact structure and high stability, nanobodies see frequent usage in basic research, and their chemical functionalization opens the way towards promising diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this Review, central aspects of nanobody functionalization are presented, together with selected applications. While early conjugation strategies relied on the random modification of natural amino acids, more recent studies have focused on the site‐specific attachment of functional moieties. Such techniques include chemoenzymatic approaches, expressed protein ligation, and amber suppression in combination with bioorthogonal modification strategies. Recent applications range from sophisticated imaging and mass spectrometry to the delivery of nanobodies into living cells for the visualization and manipulation of intracellular antigens. PMID:28913971

Glasses have been used as decorative objects in Thailand for several hundred years. Decorative glasses can generally be seen as architectural components in old styled palaces and Buddhist objects. There were various colors ranging from transparent to amber, blue, green and red with different shades among glass of different colors. Fragments of archaeological glass samples were characterized for the first time using Raman microscopy with the aim of obtaining information that would lead to identification of the glass samples by means of laser scattering. The samples were also investigated using other techniques, such as particle induced X-ray emission spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope operated with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. They were mostly lead-silica based glasses. The colors resulted from metal ions. The difference in chemical composition was confirmed by Raman signature spectra. (author)

In this study, we performed a molecular docking and dynamics simulation for a benzoxazinone-human oxytocin receptor system to determine the possible hydrophobic and electrostatic interaction points in the dynamic complex. After the homology modeling, the ligand was docked into the putative active using AutoDock 3.05. After the application of energetic and structural filters, the complexes obtained were further refined with a simulated annealing protocol (AMBER8) to remove steric clashes. Three complexes were selected for subjection to the molecular dynamics simulation (5 ns), and the results on the occurrence of average anchor points showed a stable complex between the benzoxazinone derivative and the receptor. The complex could be used as a good starting point for further analysis with site-directed mutagenesis, or further computational research.

Full Text Available Toxicological research on the influence of noxious nanoparticles on human health indicates the need to develop efficient protective devices. In particular, this concerns respiratory protective equipment employing filtration nonwovens. This paper presents a methodology for the improvement of the filtration efficiency of electret nonwovens against nanoparticles by enriching amorphous polycarbonate (PC with additives of different electrostatic potentials. We introduced perlite granules (positive charge and amber granules (negative charge to the polymer stream in melt-blown technology. Filtration efficiency was assessed by a standard method using paraffin oil and sodium chloride aerosol, as well as by a non-standard method using NaCl nanoparticles. The experiments showed that strengthening the effects of electrostatic forces by the introduction of modifiers is a promising approach to improving the efficiency of electret nonwovens against nanoparticles.

Electrostatic interactions play a critical role in determining the properties, structures, and dynamics of chemical, biochemical, and material systems. These interactions are described well at the level of quantum mechanics (QM) but not so well for the various models used in force field simulations of these systems. We propose and validate a new general methodology, denoted PQEq, to predict rapidly and dynamically the atomic charges and polarization underlying the electrostatic interactions. Here the polarization is described using an atomic sized Gaussian shaped electron density that can polarize away from the core in response to internal and external electric fields, while at the same time adjusting the charge on each core (described as a Gaussian function) so as to achieve a constant chemical potential across all atoms of the system. The parameters for PQEq are derived from experimental atomic properties of all elements up to Nobelium (atomic no. = 102). We validate PQEq by comparing to QM interaction energy as probe dipoles are brought along various directions up to 30 molecules containing H, C, N, O, F, Si, P, S, and Cl atoms. We find that PQEq predicts interaction energies in excellent agreement with QM, much better than other common charge models such as obtained from QM using Mulliken or ESP charges and those from standard force fields (OPLS and AMBER). Since PQEq increases the accuracy of electrostatic interactions and the response to external electric fields, we expect that PQEq will be useful for a large range of applications including ligand docking to proteins, catalytic reactions, electrocatalysis, ferroelectrics, and growth of ceramics and films, where it could be incorporated into standard force fields as OPLS, AMBER, CHARMM, Dreiding, ReaxFF, and UFF.

Full Text Available Biological containment is a genetic technique that programs dangerous organisms to grow only in the laboratory and to die in the natural environment. Auxotrophy for a substance not found in the natural environment is an ideal biological containment. Here, we constructed an Escherichia coli strain that cannot survive in the absence of the unnatural amino acid 3-iodo-L-tyrosine. This synthetic auxotrophy was achieved by conditional production of the antidote protein against the highly toxic enzyme colicin E3. An amber stop codon was inserted in the antidote gene. The translation of the antidote mRNA was controlled by a translational switch using amber-specific 3-iodo-L-tyrosine incorporation. The antidote is synthesized only when 3-iodo-L-tyrosine is present in the culture medium. The viability of this strain rapidly decreased with less than a 1 h half-life after removal of 3-iodo-L-tyrosine, suggesting that the decay of the antidote causes the host killing by activated colicin E3 in the absence of this unnatural amino acid. The contained strain grew 1.5 times more slowly than the parent strains. The escaper frequency was estimated to be 1.4 mutations (95% highest posterior density 1.1–1.8 per 105 cell divisions. This containment system can be constructed by only plasmid introduction without genome editing, suggesting that this system may be applicable to other microbes carrying toxin-antidote systems similar to that of colicin E3.

Polyglutamine (polyQ) peptides are a useful model system for biophysical studies of protein folding and aggregation, both for their intriguing aggregation properties and their own relevance to human disease. The genetic expansion of a polyQ tract triggers the formation of amyloid aggregates associated with nine neurodegenerative diseases. Several clearly identifiable and separable factors, notably the length of the polyQ tract, influence the mechanism of aggregation, its associated kinetics, and the ensemble of structures formed. Atomistic simulations are well positioned to answer open questions regarding the thermodynamics and kinetics of polyQ folding and aggregation. The additional, explicit representation of water permits deeper investigation of the role of solvent dynamics, and it permits a direct comparison of simulation results with infrared spectroscopy experiments. The generation of meaningful simulation results hinges on satisfying two essential criteria: achieving sufficient conformational sampling to draw statistically valid conclusions, and accurately reproducing the intermolecular forces that govern system structure and dynamics. In this work, we examine the ability of 12 biomolecular force fields to reproduce the properties of a simple, 30-residue polyQ peptide (Q30) in explicit water. In addition to secondary and tertiary structure, we consider generic structural properties of polymers that provide additional dimensions for analysis of the highly degenerate disordered states of the molecule. We find that the 12 force fields produce a wide range of predictions. We identify AMBER ff99SB, AMBER ff99SB*, and OPLS-AA/L to be most suitable for studies of polyQ folding and aggregation.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have suggested that variations in DNA repair genes of W-Beijing strains may have led to transient mutator phenotypes which in turn may have contributed to host adaptation of this strain family. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP in the DNA repair gene mutT1 was identified in MDR-prone strains from the Central African Republic. A Mycobacteriumtuberculosis H37Rv mutant inactivated in two DNA repair genes, namely ada/alkA and ogt, was shown to display a hypermutator phenotype. We then looked for polymorphisms in these genes in Central African Republic strains (CAR. Results In this study, 55 MDR and 194 non-MDR strains were analyzed. Variations in DNA repair genes ada/alkA and ogt were identified. Among them, by comparison to M. tuberculosis published sequences, we found a non-sense variation in ada/alkA gene which was also observed in M. bovis AF2122 strain. SNPs that are present in the adjacent regions to the amber variation are different in M. bovis and in M. tuberculosis strain. Conclusion An Amber codon was found in the ada/alkA locus of clustered M. tuberculosis isolates and in M. bovis strain AF2122. This is likely due to convergent evolution because SNP differences between strains are incompatible with horizontal transfer of an entire gene. This suggests that such a variation may confer a selective advantage and be implicated in hypermutator phenotype expression, which in turn contributes to adaptation to environmental changes.

Micronutrient content in Pearl Zala, Pearl Saba, Creamy, and Amber Muscat varieties of grape has been determined. The ultimate analysis has been made by the atomic-absorption flame photometry; ascorbic acid has been determined by the titrometric analysis; rutin, niacin, and carotene have been studied by the colorimetric method. It has been found that the content of potassium (2673.8 mg/kg), calcium (349.0 mg/kg), iron (35.9 mg/kg), silicon (611.3 mg/kg), manganese (0.89 mg/kg) and vitamin C (5.3 mg/dm3) was the highest in Pearl Zala grapes, while the content of zinc (0.31 mg/kg), nicotinic acid (10.9 mg/dm3) and carotene (0,33 mg/dm3) was the highest in Pearls Saba. Amber Muscat grape has been found to have the highest concentration of sodium (151.4 mg/kg), phosphorus (466.8 mg/kg), magnesium (221.6 mg/kg), aluminum (68.5 mg/kg), cobalt (0.120 mg/kg) and copper (1.91 mg/kg) in comparison with other grape varieties. It has been found that the content of ascorbic acid and rutin differ 1.5-1.6 fold, of magnesium, iron, silicon and potassium--1.7-1.8 fold, of calcium and phosphorus--2.2-2.5 fold, carotene--4.1 times, aluminum, sodium and nicotinic acid--4.7-5.5 fold, cobalt and copper--8.6-8.7 fold, zinc and manganese--10.3-22.2 fold.

Purpose: Recent legislative and accreditation requirements have driven rapid development and implementation of CT radiation dose monitoring solutions. Institutions must determine how to improve quality, safety, and consistency of their clinical performance. The purpose of this work was to design a strategy and meaningful characterization of results from an in-house, clinically-deployed dose monitoring solution. Methods: A dose monitoring platform was designed by our imaging physics group that focused on extracting protocol parameters, dose metrics, and patient demographics and size. Compared to most commercial solutions, which focus on individual exam alerts and global thresholds, the program sought to characterize overall consistency and targeted thresholds based on eight analytic interrogations. Those were based on explicit questions related to protocol application, national benchmarks, protocol and size-specific dose targets, operational consistency, outliers, temporal trends, intra-system variability, and consistent use of electronic protocols. Using historical data since the start of 2013, 95% and 99% intervals were used to establish yellow and amber parameterized dose alert thresholds, respectively, as a function of protocol, scanner, and size. Results: Quarterly reports have been generated for three hospitals for 3 quarters of 2015 totaling 27880, 28502, 30631 exams, respectively. Four adult and two pediatric protocols were higher than external institutional benchmarks. Four protocol dose levels were being inconsistently applied as a function of patient size. For the three hospitals, the minimum and maximum amber outlier percentages were [1.53%,2.28%], [0.76%,1.8%], [0.94%,1.17%], respectively. Compared with the electronic protocols, 10 protocols were found to be used with some inconsistency. Conclusion: Dose monitoring can satisfy requirements with global alert thresholds and patient dose records, but the real value is in optimizing patient

Full Text Available The high concentration of macromolecules in the crowded cellular interior influences different thermodynamic and kinetic properties of proteins, including their structural stabilities, intermolecular binding affinities and enzymatic rates. Moreover, various structural biology methods, such as NMR or different spectroscopies, typically involve samples with relatively high protein concentration. Due to large sampling requirements, however, the accuracy of classical molecular dynamics (MD simulations in capturing protein behavior at high concentration still remains largely untested. Here, we use explicit-solvent MD simulations and a total of 6.4 µs of simulated time to study wild-type (folded and oxidatively damaged (unfolded forms of villin headpiece at 6 mM and 9.2 mM protein concentration. We first perform an exhaustive set of simulations with multiple protein molecules in the simulation box using GROMOS 45a3 and 54a7 force fields together with different types of electrostatics treatment and solution ionic strengths. Surprisingly, the two villin headpiece variants exhibit similar aggregation behavior, despite the fact that their estimated aggregation propensities markedly differ. Importantly, regardless of the simulation protocol applied, wild-type villin headpiece consistently aggregates even under conditions at which it is experimentally known to be soluble. We demonstrate that aggregation is accompanied by a large decrease in the total potential energy, with not only hydrophobic, but also polar residues and backbone contributing substantially. The same effect is directly observed for two other major atomistic force fields (AMBER99SB-ILDN and CHARMM22-CMAP as well as indirectly shown for additional two (AMBER94, OPLS-AAL, and is possibly due to a general overestimation of the potential energy of protein-protein interactions at the expense of water-water and water-protein interactions. Overall, our results suggest that current MD force fields

Radioactive wastes need to be disposed in the special facilities, in a safe manner, that protects human health and the environment. During the licensing process of radioactive waste disposal facilities, scientific studies and experimental analyses, safety analyses and environmental impact studies are required to demonstrate both confinement capability and radioactive protection of repository. As basis of these studies and analyses, an evolution scenario system must be developed. During the licensing process, from this evolution scenario system, the representative scenarios will be chosen and evaluated, in the specific Safety Cases. The generic purpose of a Safety Case is to calculate concentration of representative radionuclides, which could be released from repository into biosphere, and doses for public. For Baita Bihor Facility, the paper presents 3 scenarios, based on the FEP List for this Facility, described as follows: - Migration through near field, far field and biosphere of a representative radionuclide from Repository, Cs-137; - Transport of Cs-137 with water, by a rock fracture, in a river; - In the river, a part of flow river is used as drinking water for human and animals and we consider also evaporation of water and deposition of radionuclide on sediments; - Migration of Cs -137 in biosphere. Generic exposure pathways taking into account are: - Consumption of drinking water by human and animals; - Consumption of animal products (milk and meat) by human; - Ingestion of contaminated material (sediments) by animals; - External exposure from soil (sediments). The assessment of scenarios is obtained AMBER computer code. AMBER is a flexible software tool that allows users to build their own dynamic behavior models to represent the migration and pathways of contaminants in a system. This computer code can be used to assess normal and abnormal evolution scenario. Taking into account the above described scenarios, radionuclide concentration in water and food

Purpose: Recent legislative and accreditation requirements have driven rapid development and implementation of CT radiation dose monitoring solutions. Institutions must determine how to improve quality, safety, and consistency of their clinical performance. The purpose of this work was to design a strategy and meaningful characterization of results from an in-house, clinically-deployed dose monitoring solution. Methods: A dose monitoring platform was designed by our imaging physics group that focused on extracting protocol parameters, dose metrics, and patient demographics and size. Compared to most commercial solutions, which focus on individual exam alerts and global thresholds, the program sought to characterize overall consistency and targeted thresholds based on eight analytic interrogations. Those were based on explicit questions related to protocol application, national benchmarks, protocol and size-specific dose targets, operational consistency, outliers, temporal trends, intra-system variability, and consistent use of electronic protocols. Using historical data since the start of 2013, 95% and 99% intervals were used to establish yellow and amber parameterized dose alert thresholds, respectively, as a function of protocol, scanner, and size. Results: Quarterly reports have been generated for three hospitals for 3 quarters of 2015 totaling 27880, 28502, 30631 exams, respectively. Four adult and two pediatric protocols were higher than external institutional benchmarks. Four protocol dose levels were being inconsistently applied as a function of patient size. For the three hospitals, the minimum and maximum amber outlier percentages were [1.53%,2.28%], [0.76%,1.8%], [0.94%,1.17%], respectively. Compared with the electronic protocols, 10 protocols were found to be used with some inconsistency. Conclusion: Dose monitoring can satisfy requirements with global alert thresholds and patient dose records, but the real value is in optimizing patient

Study Objectives: Prolonged exposure to blue wavelength light has been shown to have an alerting effect, and enhances performance on cognitive tasks. A small number of studies have also shown that relatively short exposure to blue light leads to changes in functional brain responses during the period of exposure. The extent to which blue light continues to affect brain functioning during a cognitively challenging task after cessation of longer periods of exposure (i.e., roughly 30 minutes or longer), however, has not been fully investigated. Methods: A total of 35 healthy participants (18 female) were exposed to either blue (469 nm) (n = 17) or amber (578 nm) (n = 18) wavelength light for 30 minutes in a darkened room, followed immediately by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while undergoing a working memory task (N-back task). Results: Participants in the blue light condition were faster in their responses on the N-back task and showed increased activation in the dorsolateral (DLPFC) and ventrolateral (VLPFC) prefrontal cortex compared to those in the amber control light condition. Furthermore, greater activation within the VLPFC was correlated with faster N-back response times. Conclusions: This is the first study to suggest that a relatively brief, single exposure to blue light has a subsequent beneficial effect on working memory performance, even after cessation of exposure, and leads to temporarily persisting functional brain changes within prefrontal brain regions associated with executive functions. These findings may have broader implication for using blue-enriched light in a variety of work settings where alertness and quick decision-making are important. Citation: Alkozei A, Smith R, Pisner DA, Vanuk JR, Berryhill SM, Fridman A, Shane BR, Knight SA, Killgore WD. Exposure to blue light increases subsequent functional activation of the prefrontal cortex during performance of a working memory task. SLEEP 2016;39(9):1671–1680. PMID:27253770

III-V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) have gained significant interest as building blocks in novel nanoscale devices. The one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure architecture allows one to extend band structure engineering beyond quantum confinement effects by utilizing formation of different crystal phases that are thermodynamically unfavorable in bulk materials. It is therefore of crucial importance to understand the influence of variations in the NWs crystal structure on their fundamental physical properties. In this work we investigate effects of structural polytypism on the optical properties of gallium phosphide and GaP/GaNP core/shell NW structures by a correlative investigation on the structural and optical properties of individual NWs. The former is monitored by transmission electron microscopy, whereas the latter is studied via cathodoluminescence (CL) mapping. It is found that structural defects, such as rotational twins in zinc blende (ZB) GaNP, have detrimental effects on light emission intensity at low temperatures by promoting nonradiative recombination processes. On the other hand, formation of the wurtzite (WZ) phase does not notably affect the CL intensity neither in GaP nor in the GaNP alloy. This suggests that zone folding in WZ GaP does not enhance its radiative efficiency, consistent with theoretical predictions. We also show that the change in the lattice structure have negligible effects on the bandgap energies of the GaNP alloys, at least within the range of the investigated nitrogen compositions of <2%. Both WZ and ZB GaNP are found to have a significantly higher efficiency of radiative recombination as compared with that in parental GaP, promising for potential applications of GaNP NWs as efficient nanoscale light emitters within the desirable amber-red spectral range.

Full Text Available The Green Ridge Breccia cuts the composite Miocene Snoqualmie Batholith in King County, WA, USA. The granite was emplaced at ~5 km depth between ~17 and 20 Ma and the crosscutting NW trending breccia contains large angular blocks of the host granite (<1 m in longest dimension. The brecciated granite blocks are cemented by quartz-amethyst euhedra (<10 cm in longest dimension bearing vugs. A notable feature is the presence of centimetric scale amber coloured oil inclusions within the quartz-amethyst crystals. Fluid inclusion studies using Transmitted Light Petrography, UV Microscopy, Microthermometry, Laser Raman Microspectroscopy and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry record the presence and the fluid composition of three fluid inclusion types hosted by the euhedra: primary Type 1 (liquid rich two-phase (L + V aqueous inclusions and secondary Type 2 bituminous two-phase (S + L inclusions and Type 3 amber coloured oil bearing two-phase immiscible liquid inclusions. The Green Ridge Breccia was the locus for convective hydrothermal fluid flow that formed the quartz-amethyst vugs formed at T~390 °C assuming a trapping pressure of ~1.65 kb. Later, hydrocarbon fluids migrated downwards from the roof source rock (e.g., the Guye Sedimentary Member and were trapped in the euhedra. This was followed by unroofing of the batholith and exposure of the Green Ridge Breccia. This study highlights the potential for other oil migrations into the Snoqualmie Batholith in areas where it forms the basement capped by the Guye Sedimentary Member.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a food-borne pathogen that can cause severe health complications and utilizes a much lower infectious dose than other E. coli pathotypes. Despite having an intact ure locus, ureDABCEFG, the majority of EHEC strains are phenotypically urease negative under tested conditions. Urease activity potentially assists with survival fitness by enhancing acid tolerance during passage through the stomach or by aiding with colonization in either human or animal reservoirs. Previously, in the EHEC O157:H7 Sakai strain, a point mutation in ureD, encoding a urease chaperone protein, was identified, resulting in a substitution of an amber stop codon for glutamine. This single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is observed in the majority of EHEC O157:H7 isolates and correlates with a negative urease phenotype in vitro. We demonstrate that the lack of urease activity in vitro is not solely due to the amber codon in ureD. Our analysis has identified two additional SNPs in ureD affecting amino acid positions 38 and 205, in both cases determining whether the encoded amino acid is leucine or proline. Phylogenetic analysis based on Ure protein sequences from a variety of urease-encoding bacteria demonstrates that the proline at position 38 is highly conserved among Gram-negative bacteria. Experiments reveal that the L38P substitution enhances urease enzyme activity; however, the L205P substitution does not. Multilocus sequence typing analysis for a variety of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli isolates combined with the ureD sequence reveals that except for a subset of the O157:H7 strains, neither the in vitro urease-positive phenotype nor the ureD sequence is phylogenetically restricted.

The Korea Radioactive Waste Management Center (KRMC) is conducting a research on a step by step development of a safety case for the Gyeongju low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste repository (WNEMC; Wolseong Nuclear Environment Management Center). A modeling study and development of a methodology, by which an assessment of safety and performance for a low- and intermediate level radioactive waste (LILW) repository could be effectively made has been carried out. With normal or abnormal nuclide release cases associated with the various FEPs and scenarios involved in the performance of the proposed repository in view of nuclide transport and transfer both in geosphere and biosphere, a total system performance assessment (TSPA) program has been developed by utilizing such commercial development tool programs as GoldSim, AMBER, MASCOT-K, and TOUGH2 in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) under contract with KRMC. The final project report especially deals much with a detailed conceptual modeling scheme by which a GoldSim program modules, all of which are integrated into a TSPA program template kit as well as the input data set currently available. In-depth system models that are conceptually and rather practically described and then ready for implementing into a GoldSim TSPA program are introduced with plenty of illustrative conceptual schemes and evaluations with data currently available. The GoldSim TSPA tempalte program and the AMBER biosphere tempalte program as well as the TOUGH-2 gas migration template program developed through this project are expected to be successfully applied to the post closure safety assessment required for WNEMC by the regulatory body with increased practicality and much reduced uncertainty and conservatism

Methods for the calculation of the pKa ionizable amino acids are valuable tools for understanding pH-dependent properties of proteins. Cysteine is unique among the amino acids because of the chemical reactivity of its thiol group (S-H), which plays an instrumental role in several biochemical and regulatory functions. The acidity of noncatalytic cysteine residues is a factor in their susceptibility to chemical modification. Despite the plethora of existing pKa computing methods, no definitive protocol exists for accurately calculating the pKa's of cysteine residues in proteins. A cysteine pKa test set was developed, which is comprised of 18 cysteine residues in 12 proteins where the pKa's have been determined experimentally and an experimental structure is available. The pKa's of these residues were calculated using three methods that use an implicit solvent model (H++, MCCE, and PROPKA) and an all-atom replica-exchange thermodynamic integration approach with the CHARMM36 and AMBER ff99SB-ILDNP force fields. The models that use implicit solvation methods were generally unreliable in predicting cysteine residue pKa's, with RMSDs between 3.41 and 4.72 pKa units. On average, the explicit solvent methods performed better than the implicit solvent methods. RMSD values of 2.40 and 3.20 were obtained for simulations with the CHARMM36 and AMBER ff99SB-ILDNP force fields, respectively. Further development of these methods is necessary because the performance of the best method is similar to that of the null-model (RMSD = 2.74) and these differences in RMSD are of limited statistical significance given the small size of our test set.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus is synchronized by the light:dark cycle and is the master biologic clock that serves as a pacemaker to regulate circadian rhythms. We explored the hypothesis that spectral transmittance (tint) of light through caging alters circadian rhythms of endocrine and metabolic plasma constituents in nonpigmented Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats (Crl:SD; n = 12 per group) were housed in a 12:12-h light:dark environment (300 lx; 123.0 μ W/cm(2); lights on, 0600) in either clear-, amber-, blue-, or red-tinted rodent cages. Blood was collected at 0400, 0800, 1200, 1600, 2000, and 2400 and measured for melatonin, total fatty acids, pH, glucose, lactic acid, corticosterone, insulin, and leptin. As expected, plasma melatonin levels were low during the light phase but higher during the dark phase in all groups; however, when compared with the clear-cage group, rats in amber-, blue-, and red-tinted cages had 29%, 74%, and 48%, respectively, greater total daily melatonin levels due to an increased duration and, in some cases, amplitude of the nocturnal melatonin signal. No differences were found in dietary and water intake, body growth rates, total fatty acids, pH, or glucose among groups. Disruptions in circadian rhythms, manifesting as alterations in phase timing, amplitude, or duration, occurred in the melatonin, lactic acid, corticosterone, insulin, and leptin levels of rats in tinted compared with clear cages. Therefore, the use of variously tinted animal cages significantly alters circadian rhythms in plasma measures of metabolism and physiology in laboratory rats, thus potentially altering the outcomes of scientific investigations.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus is synchronized by the light:dark cycle and is the master biologic clock that serves as a pacemaker to regulate circadian rhythms. We explored the hypothesis that spectral transmittance (tint) of light through caging alters circadian rhythms of endocrine and metabolic plasma constituents in nonpigmented Sprague–Dawley rats. Rats (Crl:SD; n = 12 per group) were housed in a 12:12-h light:dark environment (300 lx; 123.0 μW/cm2; lights on, 0600) in either clear-, amber-, blue-, or red-tinted rodent cages. Blood was collected at 0400, 0800, 1200, 1600, 2000, and 2400 and measured for melatonin, total fatty acids, pH, glucose, lactic acid, corticosterone, insulin, and leptin. As expected, plasma melatonin levels were low during the light phase but higher during the dark phase in all groups; however, when compared with the clear-cage group, rats in amber-, blue-, and red-tinted cages had 29%, 74%, and 48%, respectively, greater total daily melatonin levels due to an increased duration and, in some cases, amplitude of the nocturnal melatonin signal. No differences were found in dietary and water intake, body growth rates, total fatty acids, pH, or glucose among groups. Disruptions in circadian rhythms, manifesting as alterations in phase timing, amplitude, or duration, occurred in the melatonin, lactic acid, corticosterone, insulin, and leptin levels of rats in tinted compared with clear cages. Therefore, the use of variously tinted animal cages significantly alters circadian rhythms in plasma measures of metabolism and physiology in laboratory rats, thus potentially altering the outcomes of scientific investigations. PMID:24411779

We study the inner sub-AU region of the circumstellar environment of the UX Ori type star KK Oph with near-infrared VLTI/AMBER interferometry. We are particularly interested in the inclination of the star-disk system, and we will use this information to test the current standard picture for UX Ori stars. We recorded spectrally dispersed (R˜35) interferograms in the near-infrared H and K bands with the VLTI/AMBER instrument. The derived visibilities, closure phases and the SED of KK Oph were compared with two-dimensional geometric and radiative transfer models (RADMC). We obtained visibilities at four different position angles. Using two-dimensional geometric models, we derive an axis ratio ˜3.0 corresponding to an inclination of ˜70 degree. A fitted inclined ring model leads to a ring radius of 2.8 ± 0.2 mas, corresponding to 0.44 ± 0.03 AU at a distance of 160 pc, which is larger than the dust sublimation radius of ˜0.1 AU predicted for a dust sublimation temperature of 1500 K. Our derived two-dimensional RADMC model consists of a circumstellar disk with an inclination angle of ˜70 degree and an additional dust envelope. The finding of an ˜70 degree inclined disk around KK Oph is consistent with the prediction that UX Ori objects are seen under large inclination angles, and orbiting clouds in the line of sight cause the observed variability. Furthermore, our results suggest that the orbit of the companion KK Oph B and the disk plane are coplanar.

Aims: We study the inner sub-AU region of the circumstellar environment of the UX Ori-type star KK Oph with near-infrared VLTI/AMBER interferometry. We are particularly interested in the inclination of the star-disk system, and we use this information to test the current standard picture for UX Ori stars. Methods: We recorded spectrally dispersed (R ~ 35) interferograms in the near-infrared H and K bands with the VLTI/AMBER instrument. The derived visibilities, closure phases, and the spectral energy distribution of KK Oph were compared with two-dimensional geometric and radiative transfer models (RADMC). Results: We obtained visibilities at four different position angles. Using two-dimensional geometric models, we derive an axis ratio ~3.0 corresponding to an inclination of ~70°. A fitted inclined ring model leads to a ring radius of 2.8 ± 0.2 mas, corresponding to 0.44 ± 0.03 AU at a distance of 160 pc, which is larger than the dust sublimation radius of ~0.1 AU predicted for a dust sublimation temperature of 1500 K. Our derived two-dimensional RADMC model consists of a circumstellar disk with an inclination angle of ~70° and an additional dust envelope. Conclusions: The finding of an ~70° inclined disk around KK Oph is consistent with the prediction that UX Ori objects are seen under large inclination angles, and orbiting clouds in the line of sight cause the observed variability. Furthermore, our results suggest that the orbit of the companion KK Oph B and the disk plane are coplanar. Based on observations made with ESO telescopes at Paranal Observatory under program ID: 083.D-0224(C) and 088.C-0575(A).

Full Text Available FSD-1, a designed small ultrafast folder with a ββα fold, has been actively studied in the last few years as a model system for studying protein folding mechanisms and for testing of the accuracy of computational models. The suitability of this protein to describe the folding of naturally occurring α/β proteins has recently been challenged based on the observation that the melting transition is very broad, with ill-resolved baselines. Using molecular dynamics simulations with the AMBER protein force field (ff96 coupled with the implicit solvent model (IGB = 5, we shed new light into the nature of this transition and resolve the experimental controversies. We show that the melting transition corresponds to the melting of the protein as a whole, and not solely to the helix-coil transition. The breadth of the folding transition arises from the spread in the melting temperatures (from ∼325 K to ∼302 K of the individual transitions: formation of the hydrophobic core, β-hairpin and tertiary fold, with the helix formed earlier. Our simulations initiated from an extended chain accurately predict the native structure, provide a reasonable estimate of the transition barrier height, and explicitly demonstrate the existence of multiple pathways and multiple transition states for folding. Our exhaustive sampling enables us to assess the quality of the Amber ff96/igb5 combination and reveals that while this force field can predict the correct native fold, it nonetheless overstabilizes the α-helix portion of the protein (Tm = ∼387K as well as the denatured structures.

Sharp Vision Reveals Intimacy of Stars AMBER instrument on VLTI Probes Environment of Stars Using the newly installed AMBER instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer, which combines the light from two or three 8.2-m Unit Telescopes thereby amounting to observe with a telescope of 40 to 90 metres in diameter, two international teams of astronomers observed with unprecedented detail the environment of two stars. One is a young, still-forming star and the new results provide useful information on the conditions leading to the creation of planets. The other is on the contrary a star entering the latest stages of its life. The astronomers found, in both cases, evidence for a surrounding disc. ESO PR Photo 36a/05 ESO PR Photo 36a/05 The Young Stellar Object MWC 297 (Artist's View) [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 502 pix - 50k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 1004 pix - 330k] A first group of astronomers [1], led by Fabien Malbet from the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, France, studied the young 10-solar mass stellar object MWC 297, which is still in the very early stage of its life [2]. "This scientific breakthrough opens the doors to an especially detailed scrutiny of the very close environment of young stars and will bring us invaluable knowledge on how planets form", says Malbet. It is amazing to see the amount of details the astronomers could achieve while observing an object located more than 800 light-years away and hidden by a large amount of gas and dust. They found the object to be surrounded by a proto-planetary disc extending to about the size of our Solar System, but truncated in his inner part until about half the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Moreover, the scientists found the object to be surrounded by an outflowing wind, the velocity of which increased by a factor 9, from about 70 km/s near the disc to 600 km/s in the polar regions [3]. "The reason why the inner part of the disc should be truncated is not clear", adds Malbet. "This raises

Based on the KAERI FEP list developed through the previous studies, the KAERI FEP Encyclopedia has been developed. Current version is 1.0 which includes all relevant FEPs to compose of two references and all alternative scenarios. Many interaction FEPs between scenario defining FEP(SDF) are created throughout the study. FEPs are classified into many Integrated FEP(IFEP) which eventually become the elements of the RES matrix. The FEAS program one of the component of the KAERI's CYPRUS information system is added to develop the FEP, RES, AC, AMF and finally scenarios. It assists to create transparent way to deal with assessment from the stage of the planning of the R and D to the final stage of the external audit and regulatory body review. Even though MASCOT-K and compartment analysis codes such as AMBER, GoldSim and Ecolego are excellent for TSPA they by in heritage possess a certain limitation especially to identify a proper migration cross sectional area when a relatively big component intersects with a tiny one such as a fracture. It is truly 3D phenomena in nature. MDPSA code is developed which is expected to overcome limitations in compartment models while successfully deals with natural disruptive events. The R and D target for the TSPA is to develop the sufficient scenarios and their variation cases to understand the safety of KRS in every possible aspect. For this, reference scenarios, alternative scenarios covering engineered barrier failure and natural events are developed and assessed respectively for around 100 cases. The stylized template to assess the Korean reference biosphere is developed using the AMBER. Three critical groups, agricultural, freshwater and marine water fishing groups are identified to assess the DCF following the guidelines of ICRP. Based on the QA principles of T2R3, the web based QA system is developed using the procedures in the USNRC 10CFR50 Appendix B. The QA system is combined with the PAID and FEAS to create the

Based on the KAERI FEP list developed through the previous studies, the KAERI FEP Encyclopedia has been developed. Current version is 1.0 which includes all relevant FEPs to compose of two references and all alternative scenarios. Many interaction FEPs between scenario defining FEP(SDF) are created throughout the study. FEPs are classified into many Integrated FEP(IFEP) which eventually become the elements of the RES matrix. The FEAS program one of the component of the KAERI's CYPRUS information system is added to develop the FEP, RES, AC, AMF and finally scenarios. It assists to create transparent way to deal with assessment from the stage of the planning of the R and D to the final stage of the external audit and regulatory body review. Even though MASCOT-K and compartment analysis codes such as AMBER, GoldSim and Ecolego are excellent for TSPA they by in heritage possess a certain limitation especially to identify a proper migration cross sectional area when a relatively big component intersects with a tiny one such as a fracture. It is truly 3D phenomena in nature. MDPSA code is developed which is expected to overcome limitations in compartment models while successfully deals with natural disruptive events. The R and D target for the TSPA is to develop the sufficient scenarios and their variation cases to understand the safety of KRS in every possible aspect. For this, reference scenarios, alternative scenarios covering engineered barrier failure and natural events are developed and assessed respectively for around 100 cases. The stylized template to assess the Korean reference biosphere is developed using the AMBER. Three critical groups, agricultural, freshwater and marine water fishing groups are identified to assess the DCF following the guidelines of ICRP. Based on the QA principles of T2R3, the web based QA system is developed using the procedures in the USNRC 10CFR50 Appendix B. The QA system is combined with the PAID and FEAS to create the comprehensive

A major current challenge for drug design efforts focused on protein kinases is the development of drug resistance caused by spontaneous mutations in the kinase catalytic domain. The ubiquity of this problem means that it would be advantageous to develop fast, effective computational methods that could be used to determine the effects of potential resistance-causing mutations before they arise in a clinical setting. With this long-term goal in mind, we have conducted a combined experimental and computational study of the thermodynamic effects of active-site mutations on a well-characterized and high-affinity interaction between a protein kinase and a small-molecule inhibitor. Specifically, we developed a fluorescence-based assay to measure the binding free energy of the small-molecule inhibitor, SB203580, to the p38α MAP kinase and used it measure the inhibitor's affinity for five different kinase mutants involving two residues (Val38 and Ala51) that contact the inhibitor in the crystal structure of the inhibitor-kinase complex. We then conducted long, explicit-solvent thermodynamic integration (TI) simulations in an attempt to reproduce the experimental relative binding affinities of the inhibitor for the five mutants; in total, a combined simulation time of 18.5 μs was obtained. Two widely used force fields - OPLS-AA/L and Amber ff99SB-ILDN - were tested in the TI simulations. Both force fields produced excellent agreement with experiment for three of the five mutants; simulations performed with the OPLS-AA/L force field, however, produced qualitatively incorrect results for the constructs that contained an A51V mutation. Interestingly, the discrepancies with the OPLS-AA/L force field could be rectified by the imposition of position restraints on the atoms of the protein backbone and the inhibitor without destroying the agreement for other mutations; the ability to reproduce experiment depended, however, upon the strength of the restraints' force constant

Thermodynamic and kinetic properties are of critical importance for the applicability of computational models to biomolecules such as proteins. Here we present an extensive evaluation of the Amber ff99SB-ILDN force field for modeling of hydration and diffusion of amino acids with three-site (SPC, SPC/E, SPC/E b , and TIP3P), four-site (TIP4P, TIP4P-Ew, and TIP4P/2005), and five-site (TIP5P and TIP5P-Ew) water models. Hydration free energies (HFEs) of neutral amino acid side chain analogues have little dependence on the water model, with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of ∼1 kcal/mol from experimental observations. On the basis of the number of interacting sites in the water model, HFEs of charged side chains can be putatively classified into three groups, of which the group of three-site models lies between those of four- and five-site water models; for each group, the water model dependence is greatly eliminated when the solvent Galvani potential is considered. Some discrepancies in the location of the first hydration peak ( R RDF ) in the ion-water radial distribution function between experimental and calculated observations were detected, such as a systematic underestimation of the acetate (Asp side chain) ion. The RMSE of calculated diffusion coefficients of amino acids from experiment increases linearly with the increasing diffusion coefficients of the solvent water models at infinite dilution. TIP3P has the fastest diffusivity, in line with literature findings, while the "FB" and "OPC" water model families as well as TIP4P/2005 perform well, within a relative error of 5%, and TIP4P/2005 yields the most accurate estimate for the water diffusion coefficient. All of the tested water models overestimate amino acid diffusion coefficients by approximately 40% (TIP4P/2005) to 200% (TIP3P). Scaling of protein-water interactions with TIP4P/2005 in the Amber ff99SBws and ff03ws force fields leads to more negative HFEs but has little influence on the diffusion of

Full Text Available Light-emitting diodes (LEDs technology offers vast possibilities in plant lighting due to its ability to mix different light frequencies, high energy use efficiency and low heat production combined to long lifespan. In particular, the combined effect of the Blue:Red (B:R ratio and other frequencies in the central part of the PAR spectrum (CGA, i.e. cyan, green and amber may be very important, though literature information is scarce. In this paper, the effects of six light spectra from LED technology were tested, i.e.: i B:R=0.82 (i.e. similar to sunlight with CGA (treatment T0; ii B:R=0.82 without CGA (T1; iii red prevalence (B:R=0.25 without CGA (T2; iv blue prevalence (B:R=4 without CGA (T3; v red prevalence with CGA (T4; and vi blue prevalence with CGA (T5. The experiment was carried out in a walk-in climatic chamber with controlled temperature and relative humidity and an incident PAR photon flux density (PFD of 300 μmol m–2 s–1 (14/10 light/dark photoperiod, generated by multispectral LED lamps with adjustable light intensity. Smooth leaved lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv Gentilina was used as the test plant and biomass yield (DW, g m–2, LAI, soil coverage proportion (SC%, energy-biomass conversion efficiency (E-BCE, kWh g–1 and radiation use efficiency (RUE, g mol–1 photons were determined. Treatments with red predominance (T2 and T4 showed the highest SC% rates, while those with blue predominance (T3 and T5 showed the lowest. Light spectrum also affected leaf size (i.e. mean leaf area. The highest DW and RUE were observed in T2 and T4, followed by T0, while biomass in T3 and T5 was significantly lower (similar to T1. LAI values were generally high, but treatments with blue predominance showed the lowest LAI values (both with or without CGA. The introduction of intermediate wavelengths (green, cyan and amber did not bring about significant improvement in DW or RUE, but resulted in reduced energy-biomass conversion efficiency

The applicability of colour-quality metrics to solid-state light sources is validated and the results of the assessment of colour-rendition characteristics of various lamps are presented. The standard colour-rendering index metric or a refined colour-quality scale metric fails to distinguish between two principle colour-rendition properties of illumination: the ability to render object colours with high fidelity and the ability to increase chromatic contrast, especially when the spectra of light sources contain a few narrow-band electroluminescence components. Supplementing these metrics by the known figures of merit that measure the gamut area of a small number of test colour samples does not completely resolve this issue. In contrast, the statistical approach, which is based on sorting a very large number of test colour samples in respect of just-perceivable colour distortions of several kinds, offers a comprehensive assessment of colour-rendition properties of solid-state light sources. In particular, two statistical indices, colour-fidelity index (CFI) and colour-saturation index (CSI), which are the relative numbers of object colours rendered with high fidelity and increased saturation, respectively, are sufficient to reveal and assess three distinct types of solid-state light sources. These are (i) high-fidelity lamps, which cover the entire spectrum with the spectral components present in the wavelength ranges of both 530-610 nm and beyond 610 nm (e.g. trichromatic warm white phosphor-converted (pc) light-emitting diodes (LEDs), red-amber-green-blue LED clusters, complementary clusters of white and coloured LEDs); (ii) colour-saturating lamps, which lack power in the 530-610 nm wavelength range (e.g. red-green-blue or red-cyan-blue LED clusters) and (iii) colour-dulling lamps, which lack power for wavelengths longer than 610 nm (dichromatic daylight pc LEDs and amber-green-blue LED clusters). Owing to a single statistical format, CSI and CFI can be used for

Context. Rotation significantly impacts on the structure and life of stars. In phases of high rotation velocity (close to critical), the photospheric structure can be highly modified, and present in particular geometrical deformation (rotation flattening) and latitudinal-dependent flux (gravity darkening). The fastest known rotators among the nondegenerate stars close to the main sequence, Be stars, are key targets for studying the effects of fast rotation on stellar photospheres. Aims: We seek to determine the purely photospheric parameters of Achernar based on observations recorded during an emission-free phase (normal B phase). Methods: Several recent works proved that optical/IR long-baseline interferometry is the only technique able to sufficiently spatially resolve and measure photospheric parameters of fast rotating stars. We thus analyzed ESO-VLTI (PIONIER and AMBER) interferometric observations of Achernar to measure its photospheric parameters by fitting our physical model CHARRON using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. This analysis was also complemented by spectroscopic, polarimetric, and photometric observations to investigate the status of the circumstellar environment of Achernar during the VLTI observations and to cross-check our model-fitting results. Results: Based on VLTI observations that partially resolve Achernar, we simultaneously measured five photospheric parameters of a Be star for the first time: equatorial radius (equatorial angular diameter), equatorial rotation velocity, polar inclination, position angle of the rotation axis projected on the sky, and the gravity darkening β coefficient (effective temperature distribution). The close circumstellar environment of Achernar was also investigated based on contemporaneous polarimetry, spectroscopy, and interferometry, including image reconstruction. This analysis did not reveal any important circumstellar contribution, so that Achernar was essentially in a normal B phase at least from mid

This study introduces multi-package white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) system with the ability to realize high luminous efficacy and an excellent color rendering index (CRI, R a) using the R B,M A B,M G B,M C B (R B,M A B,M G B,M denoted as a long-pass dichroic filter (LPDF)-capped, monochromatic red, amber and green phosphor converted-LED (pc-LED) pumped by a blue LED chip, and C B denoted as a cyan and blue mixed pc-LED pumped by a blue LED) system. The luminous efficacy and color rendering index (CRI) of multi-package white LED systems are compared while changing the concentration of the cyan phosphor used in the paste of a cyan-blue LED package and the driving current of individual LEDs in multi-package white LEDs at correlated color temperatures (CCTs) ranging from 6,500 K (cold white) to 2,700 K (warm white) using a set of eight CCTs as specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard number C78.377-2008. A R B,M A B,M G B,M C B white LED system provides high luminous efficacy (≥ 96 lm/W) and a color rendering index (≥ 91) encompassing the complete CCT range. We also compare the optical properties of the R B,M A B,M G B,M C B system with those of the R B,M A B,M G B,M B and RAGB (red, amber, green, and blue semiconductor-type narrow-spectrum-band LEDs) systems. It can be expected that the cyan color added to a blue LED in multi-package white LEDs based on LPDF-capped, phosphor-converted monochromatic LEDs will meet the needs of the high-quality, highly efficient, full-color white LED lighting market in the near future.

A novel procedure for optimizing the atomic solvation parameters (ASPs) sigma(i) developed recently for cyclic peptides is extended to surface loops in proteins. The loop is free to move, whereas the protein template is held fixed in its X-ray structure. The energy is E(tot) = E(FF)(epsilon = nr) + summation operator sigma(i)A(i), where E(FF)(epsilon = nr) is the force-field energy of the loop-loop and loop-template interactions, epsilon = nr is a distance-dependent dielectric constant, and n is an additional parameter to be optimized. A(i) is the solvent-accessible surface area of atom i. The optimal sigma(i) and n are those for which the loop structure with the global minimum of E(tot)(n, sigma(i)) becomes the experimental X-ray structure. Thus, the ASPs depend on the force field and are optimized in the protein environment, unlike commonly used ASPs such as those of Wesson and Eisenberg (Protein Sci 1992;1:227-235). The latter are based on the free energy of transfer of small molecules from the gas phase to water and have been traditionally combined with various force fields without further calibration. We found that for loops the all-atom AMBER force field performed better than OPLS and CHARMM22. Two sets of ASPs [based on AMBER (n = 2)], optimized independently for loops 64-71 and 89-97 of ribonuclease A, were similar and thus enabled the definition of a best-fit set. All these ASPs were negative (hydrophilic), including those for carbon. Very good (i.e., small) root-mean-square-deviation values from the X-ray loop structure were obtained with the three sets of ASPs, suggesting that the best-fit set would be transferable to loops in other proteins as well. The structure of loop 13-24 is relatively stretched and was insensitive to the effect of the ASPs. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

We have studied a charge-insertion process that models the deprotonation of a histidine side chain in the active site of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) using both the continuum electrostatic calculations and the microscopic simulations. The group of interest is a ligand to Cu(B) center of CcO, which has been previously suggested to play the role of the proton pumping element in the enzyme; the group is located near a large internal water cavity in the protein. Using the nonpolarizable Amber-99 force field in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we have calculated the nuclear part of the reaction-field energy of charging of the His group and combined it with the electronic part, which we estimated in terms of the electronic continuum (EC) model, to obtain the total reaction-field energy of charging. The total free energy obtained in this MDEC approach was then compared with that calculated using pure continuum electrostatic model with variable dielectric parameters. The dielectric constant for the "dry" protein and that of the internal water cavity of CcO were determined as those parameters that provide best agreement between the continuum and microscopic MDEC model. The nuclear (MD) polarization alone (without electronic part) of a dry protein was found to correspond to an unphysically low dielectric constant of only about 1.3, whereas the inclusion of electronic polarizability increases the protein dielectric constant to 2.6-2.8. A detailed analysis is presented as to how the protein structure should be selected for the continuum calculations, as well as which probe and atomic radii should be used for cavity definition. The dielectric constant of the internal water cavity was found to be 80 or even higher using "standard" parameters of water probe radius, 1.4 A, and protein atomic radii from the MD force field for cavity description; such high values are ascribed to the fact that the standard procedure produces unphysically small cavities. Using x-ray data for

Context. The UX Ori type variables (named after the prototype of their class) are intermediate-mass pre-main sequence objects. One of the most likely causes of their variability is the obscuration of the central star by orbiting dust clouds. Aims: We investigate the structure of the circumstellar environment of the UX Ori star V1026 Sco (HD 142666) and test whether the disk inclination is large enough to explain the UX Ori variability. Methods: We observed the object in the low-resolution mode of the near-infrared interferometric VLTI/AMBER instrument and derived H- and K-band visibilities and closure phases. We modeled our AMBER observations, published Keck Interferometer observations, archival MIDI/VLTI visibilities, and the spectral energy distribution using geometric and temperature-gradient models. Results: Employing a geometric inclined-ring disk model, we find a ring radius of 0.15 ± 0.06 AU in the H band and 0.18 ± 0.06 AU in the K band. The best-fit temperature-gradient model consists of a star and two concentric, ring-shaped disks. The inner disk has a temperature of 1257+133-53 K at the inner rim and extends from 0.19 ± 0.01 AU to 0.23 ± 0.02 AU. The outer disk begins at 1.35+0.19-0.20 AU and has an inner temperature of 334+35-17 K. The derived inclination of 48.6+2.9-3.6° approximately agrees with the inclination derived with the geometric model (49 ± 5° in the K band and 50 ± 11° in the H band). The position angle of the fitted geometric and temperature-gradient models are 163 ± 9° (K band; 179 ± 17° in the H band) and 169.3+4.2-6.7°, respectively. Conclusions: The narrow width of the inner ring-shaped model disk and the disk gap might be an indication for a puffed-up inner rim shadowing outer parts of the disk. The intermediate inclination of ~50° is consistent with models of UX Ori objects where dust clouds in the inclined disk obscure the central star. Based on observations made with ESO telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory

We study the geometry and the physical conditions in the inner (AU-scale) circumstellar region around the young Herbig Be star MWC 147 using long-baseline spectrointerferometry in the near-infrared (NIR) K-band, VLTI/AMBER observations, and PTI archive data, as well as the mid-infrared (MIR) N-band, VLTI/MIDI observations. The emission from MWC 147 is clearly resolved and has a characteristic physical size of ~1.3 and ~9 AU at 2.2 and 11 μm, respectively (Gaussian diameter). The MIR emission reveals asymmetry consistent with a disk structure seen under intermediate inclination. The spectrally dispersed AMBER and MIDI interferograms both show a strong increase in the characteristic size toward longer wavelengths, much steeper than predicted by analytic disk models assuming power-law radial temperature distributions. We model the interferometric data and the spectral energy distribution of MWC 147 with two-dimensional, frequency-dependent radiation transfer simulations. This analysis shows that models of spherical envelopes or passive irradiated Keplerian disks (with vertical or curved puffed-up inner rim) can easily fit the SED, but predict much lower visibilities than observed; the angular size predicted by such models is 2-4 times larger than the size derived from the interferometric data, so these models can clearly be ruled out. Models of a Keplerian disk with optically thick gas emission from an active gaseous disk (inside the dust sublimation zone), however, yield a good fit of the SED and simultaneously reproduce the absolute level and the spectral dependence of the NIR and MIR visibilities. We conclude that the NIR continuum emission from MWC 147 is dominated by accretion luminosity emerging from an optically thick inner gaseous disk, while the MIR emission also contains contributions from the outer, irradiated dust disk. Based on observations made with ESO telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory under program IDs 074.C-0181, 076.C-0138, and 078.C

Recently, we are witnessing an increased appreciation for the importance of the fossil record in phylogenetics and testing various evolutionary hypotheses. However, this approach brings many challenges, especially for such a complex group as aphids and requires a thorough morphological analysis of the extinct groups. The extinct aphid family Szelegiewicziidae is supposed to be one of the oviparous lineages in aphid evolution. New material from the rock fossil deposits of Shar Teg (Upper Jurassic of Mongolia), Baissa (Lower Cretaceous of Siberia-Russia), and Burmese amber (Upper Cretaceous of Myanmar) allowed us to undertake a more detailed examination of the morphological features and carry out an analysis of the taxonomical composition and evolution of the family. This led us to the conclusion that evolution of the body plan and wing structure was similar in different, often not closely related groups, probably as a result of convergence. Additionally, we present a description of a new genus and two species (Tinaphis mongolica Żyła &Wegierek, sp. nov., and Feroorbis burmensis Wegierek & Huang, gen. et sp. nov.) that belong to this family.

Since 2005, all states and territories across Australia have progressively introduced policy guidelines to promote nutritious food sales in school canteens. This study aimed to assess the compliance of school canteens with their state or territory canteen guidelines. School canteen menus from a convenience sample of online government school websites were assessed for compliance with guidelines for the inclusion of foods meeting the criteria for 'red' ('not recommended' or 'only occasional - no more than twice per term'), 'amber' ('select carefully') and 'green' ('always on the menu', 'everyday', 'fill the menu' or 'plenty'). The costs of a salad and a regular pie were also collected where present. A total of 263 school menus were sourced and assessed (4% of government schools). Western Australia was the most compliant, with 62% of menus adhering to the state guidelines; compliance in other jurisdictions ranged from 5-35%. Compared with primary schools, a higher proportion of secondary schools offered 'red' items on the menu (Pschool canteens were not complying with relevant state or territory guidelines, particularly those schools in which no monitoring or enforcement of the guidelines was conducted. SO WHAT? Monitoring and enforcement by those responsible for the policy, together with efforts to build the capacity for schools and manufacturers to improve the food supply, may increase compliance.

Since 2005, a government-endorsed strategy guiding food sold in New South Wales school canteens has been in place. This study describes the changes in school canteen food between 2007 and 2010 and characterises schools most likely to adhere to strategy guidelines. Menus obtained from a cohort of primary and central schools in the Hunter New England region of New South Wales were audited using a traffic light system of classification. Energy dense, nutrient-poor or 'red' items are restricted; 'amber' are to be selected carefully and healthier 'green' items are encouraged. In 2007, 7% of schools had no red items on their menu. In 2010, this improved to 22% (P schools (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.25-3.05, P = 0.003); lower socioeconomic schools (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.02-1.78, P = 0.03); non-government (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.22-2.23, P = 0.001) and rural schools (OR = 1.7, 95% Cl = 1.30-2.25, P schools adhering to strategy guidelines had increased slightly, however, most continue to list red items for regular sale. SO WHAT? For health policies to improve public health they need implementation. Findings suggest more work is required, particularly in small schools, rural schools and non-government schools.

Atomistic molecular simulations are a powerful way to make quantitative predictions, but the accuracy of these predictions depends entirely on the quality of the force field employed. Although experimental measurements of fundamental physical properties offer a straightforward approach for evaluating force field quality, the bulk of this information has been tied up in formats that are not machine-readable. Compiling benchmark data sets of physical properties from non-machine-readable sources requires substantial human effort and is prone to the accumulation of human errors, hindering the development of reproducible benchmarks of force-field accuracy. Here, we examine the feasibility of benchmarking atomistic force fields against the NIST ThermoML data archive of physicochemical measurements, which aggregates thousands of experimental measurements in a portable, machine-readable, self-annotating IUPAC-standard format. As a proof of concept, we present a detailed benchmark of the generalized Amber small-molecule force field (GAFF) using the AM1-BCC charge model against experimental measurements (specifically, bulk liquid densities and static dielectric constants at ambient pressure) automatically extracted from the archive and discuss the extent of data available for use in larger scale (or continuously performed) benchmarks. The results of even this limited initial benchmark highlight a general problem with fixed-charge force fields in the representation low-dielectric environments, such as those seen in binding cavities or biological membranes.

With nearly 100,000 species, the Acercaria (lice, plant lices, thrips, bugs) including number of economically important species is one of the most successful insect lineages. However, its phylogeny and evolution of mouthparts among other issues remain debatable. Here new methods of preparation permitted the comprehensive anatomical description of insect inclusions from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber in astonishing detail. These “missing links” fossils, attributed to a new order Permopsocida, provide crucial evidence for reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships in the Acercaria, supporting its monophyly, and questioning the position of Psocodea as sister group of holometabolans in the most recent phylogenomic study. Permopsocida resolves as sister group of Thripida + Hemiptera and represents an evolutionary link documenting the transition from chewing to piercing mouthparts in relation to suction feeding. Identification of gut contents as angiosperm pollen documents an ecological role of Permopsocida as early pollen feeders with relatively unspecialized mouthparts. This group existed for 185 million years, but has never been diverse and was superseded by new pollenivorous pollinators during the Cretaceous co-evolution of insects and flowers. The key innovation of suction feeding with piercing mouthparts is identified as main event that triggered the huge post-Carboniferous radiation of hemipterans, and facilitated the spreading of pathogenic vectors.

Recently, we are witnessing an increased appreciation for the importance of the fossil record in phylogenetics and testing various evolutionary hypotheses. However, this approach brings many challenges, especially for such a complex group as aphids and requires a thorough morphological analysis of the extinct groups. The extinct aphid family Szelegiewicziidae is supposed to be one of the oviparous lineages in aphid evolution. New material from the rock fossil deposits of Shar Teg (Upper Jurassic of Mongolia), Baissa (Lower Cretaceous of Siberia-Russia), and Burmese amber (Upper Cretaceous of Myanmar) allowed us to undertake a more detailed examination of the morphological features and carry out an analysis of the taxonomical composition and evolution of the family. This led us to the conclusion that evolution of the body plan and wing structure was similar in different, often not closely related groups, probably as a result of convergence. Additionally, we present a description of a new genus and two species ( Tinaphis mongolica Żyła &Wegierek, sp. nov., and Feroorbis burmensis Wegierek & Huang, gen. et sp. nov.) that belong to this family.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common and often inconspicuous wound that is frequently associated with chronic low-grade symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. Previous evidence suggests that daily blue wavelength light therapy may be effective at reducing fatigue and improving sleep in patients recovering from mTBI. However, the effects of light therapy on recovering brain structure remain unexplored. In this study, we analyzed white matter diffusion properties, including generalized fractional anisotropy, and the quantity of water diffusion in isotropic (i.e., isotropic diffusion) and anisotropic fashion (i.e., quantitative anisotropy, QA) for fibers crossing 11 brain areas known to be significantly affected following mTBI. Specifically, we investigated how 6 weeks of daily morning blue light exposure therapy (compared to an amber-light placebo condition) impacted changes in white matter diffusion in individuals with mTBI. We observed a significant impact of the blue light treatment (relative to the placebo) on the amount of water diffusion (QA) for multiple brain areas, including the corpus callosum, anterior corona radiata, and thalamus. Moreover, many of these changes were associated with improvements in sleep latency and delayed memory. These findings suggest that blue wavelength light exposure may serve as one of the potential non-pharmacological treatments for facilitating structural and functional recovery following mTBI; they also support the use of QA as a reliable neuro-biomarker for mTBI therapies.

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the physicochemical properties and carotenoid levels of pequi oil obtained by different extraction methods and to evaluate the preservation of these properties and pigments during storage time. The pequi oil was obtained by solvent extraction, mechanical extraction, and hot water flotation. It was stored for over 180 days in an amber bottle at ambient conditions. Analyses for the determination of the acidity, peroxide, saponification and iodine values, coloration, total carotenoids, and β-carotene levels were conducted. The oil extraction with solvents produced the best yield and carotenoid levels. The oil obtained by mechanical extraction presented higher acidity (5.44 mg KOH.g-1 and peroxide values (1.07 mEq.kg-1. During the storage of pequi oil, there was an increase in the acidity and the peroxide values, darkening of the oil coloration, and a reduction of the carotenoid levels. Mechanical extraction is the less advantageous method for the conservation of the physicochemical properties and carotenoid levels in pequi oil.

The implementation of a standardized front-of-pack-labelling (FoPL) scheme would likely be a useful tool for many consumers trying to improve the healthfulness of their diets. Our objective was to examine what the traffic light labelling scheme would look like if implemented in the US. Data were extracted from Label Insight's Open Access branded food database in 2017. Nutrient levels and the proportion of products classified as "Red" (High), "Amber" (Medium) or "Green" (Low) in total fat, saturated fat, total sugar and sodium for food and beverage items were examined. The proportion of products in each category that had each possible combination of traffic light colors, and met the aggregate score for "healthy" was examined. Out of 175,198 products, >50% of all US packaged foods received a "Red" rating for total sugar and sodium. "Confectionery" had the highest mean total sugar (51.9 g/100 g) and "Meat and meat alternatives" the highest mean sodium (781 mg/100 g). The most common traffic light label combination was "Red" for total fat, saturated fat and sodium and "Green" for sugar. Only 30.1% of products were considered "healthy". A wide variety ( n = 80) of traffic light color combinations were observed. A color coded traffic light scheme appears to be an option for implementation across the US packaged food supply to support consumers in making healthier food choices.

Administration sets are delivery tools for the direct application of drugs into the body and are composed of a spike, a drip chamber, tubes, Luer adapters (connectors), a needle cover for protection, and other accessories. Drug sorption to tubes of administration sets is a critical issue in terms of safety and efficacy. Although drug sorption is an important factor in the quality of an administration set, there are no standard evaluation methods for the regulation of drug sorption to the tubes. Here, we describe an evaluation protocol for drug sorption to tubes of administration sets. Tubes made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)- and non-PVC-based polymeric materials were cut to 1 m in length. Diazepam and tacrolimus were used as model drugs. In the kinetic sorption study, we selected the drug concentration and flow rate based on the clinical usage of these drugs. After the dilution of each drug in a glass bottle, the diluted drug solution was delivered through tubes of administration sets using a pump. Samples were collected in amber vials at appropriate time points and the drugs were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Drug concentrations and sorption levels to tubes of the administration sets were calculated. Acceptable criteria to ensure the quality of administration sets are recommended.

Full Text Available The photodimerization reaction between the two adjacent thymine bases within a single strand has been the subject of numerous studies due to its potential to induce DNA mutagenesis and possible tumorigenesis in human skin cells. It is well established that the cycloaddition photoreaction takes place on a picosecond time scale along barrierless or low barrier singlet/triplet pathways. However, the observed dimerization quantum yield in different thymine multimer is considerable lower than might be expected. A reasonable explanation is required to understand why thymine in DNA is able to survive ultrafast dimerization damage. In this work, accurate quantum calculations based on the combined CASPT2//CASSCF/AMBER method were conducted to map the excited state relaxation pathways of the thymine monomer in aqueous solution and of the thymine oligomer in DNA. A monomer-like decay pathway, induced by the twisting of the methyl group, is found to provide a bypass channel to ensure the photostability of thymine in single-stranded oligomers. This fast relaxation path is regulated by the conical intersection between the bright SCT(1ππ* state with the intra-base charge transfer character and the ground state to remove the excess excitation energy, thereby achieving the ground-state recovery with high efficiency.

Consumer electronics have increasingly relied on ultra-thin glass screen due to its transparency, scalability, and cost. In particular, display technology relies on integrating light-emitting diodes with display panel as a source for backlighting. In this study, we undertook the challenge of integrating light emitters onto amorphous quartz by demonstrating the direct growth and fabrication of a III-nitride nanowire-based light-emitting diode. The proof-of-concept device exhibits a low turn-on voltage of 2.6 V, on an amorphous quartz substrate. We achieved 40% transparency across the visible wavelength while maintaining electrical conductivity by employing a TiN/Ti interlayer on quartz as a translucent conducting layer. The nanowire-on-quartz LED emits a broad linewidth spectrum of light centered at true yellow color ( 590 nm), an important wavelength bridging the green-gap in solid-state lighting technology, with significantly less strain and dislocations compared to conventional planar quantum well nitride structures. Our endeavor highlighted the feasibility of fabricating III-nitride optoelectronic device on a scalable amorphous substrate through facile growth and fabrication steps. For practical demonstration, we demonstrated tunable correlated color temperature white light, leveraging on the broadly tunable nanowire spectral characteristics across red-amber-yellow color regime.

To determine the prevalence of spheroidal degeneration of cornea (SDC) and its association with other eye diseases in the tribes of South-West Rajasthan. A total of 5012 patients were examined on slit lamp for the diagnosis of SDC. Diagnosis of SDC was made based on presence of amber granules in the superficial stroma of peripheral interpalpebral cornea with increasing opacification, coalescence and central spread or nodular and hazy surrounding stroma and divided in three stages. The prevalence of SDC was 10.7%. Around 55% of the total of 535 cases examined were found to have Stage I followed by Stage II (32%) and Stage III (13%). The prevalence is greatest in both men and women over 70 years of age. The severity of SDC is greater in men. SDC was significantly associated with pterygium and pseudocapsular exfoliation. Extreme temperature, low humidity, dust, high wind, and microtrauma caused by sand particles are the probable etiologies for higher prevalence of this kind of degeneration in this region.

Full Text Available The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010 by Edmund de Waal is a memoir written by “a very textual potter”. Thanks to the inheritance of a collection of tiny Japanese carvings, de Waal leaves on a journey to Paris, Vienna, Odessa, back to his Jewish roots in nineteenth century aesthtecisism and in the tragedy of the Shoah. Drawing parallels between his writing, collecting and the plastic arts of pottery, the author explores the affinities between artefact and word, installation and proposition, collection and archive. The Hare can be read in the context of what R. Wendorf has defined a “literature of collecting,” including critical theory as well as narratives dealing with its practices. Rich in intertextual excursions, de Waal’s autobiographical writing develops a fruitful conversation with W. Benjamin’s 1931 paradigmatic text “Unpacking my Library”. Also P. Levi’s La chiave a stella riverberates in the writer’s awareness of the importance of precision in practices like creating an installation and writing about the past, involving both aesthetic and moral responsabilities. De Waal’s stance about the transitivity between art and writing finally emerges from the very rhetorics of his work which abounds in circular structures like the red alluminium ring which sustains his installation at the V&A Ceramics Galleries and the figure of the chiasmus which organizes his prose writing, linking him yet again to his Jewish cultural origins.

Between 2006 and 2011 a series of disease conditions characterized by raised mortality and liver disorders occurred in turkey breeder flocks and in meat turkey flocks in Germany. The flocks were between 12 and 23 wk of age, and mostly hens were affected. Clinical signs were nonspecific and accompanied by mortality varying between 1% and 7%. Affected birds displayed swollen livers that were marbled with black and red spots and yellowish areas. The pericardium was filled with an amber fluid, and the coronary groove was extensively filled with fat. Spleens were swollen, and a serous fluid that seemed to leak from the liver was present in the body cavity. Histopathological findings in all but one case included fatty degeneration of hepatocytes with parenchymal collapse and associated hemorrhages. Some animals showed cholangitis and hepatitis with intranuclear inclusion bodies. In three cases with breeders, electron microscopy detected virus particles that were between 23 and 30 nm and similar to parvo- or picornavirus. In addition, picornavirus RNA was detected in the livers of one meat turkey flock. Investigations by PCR for circovirus, polyomavirus parvovirus, and aviadenovirus yielded negative results in all cases, but an aviadenovirus was isolated from livers twice and a reovirus from the intestines once. Supplementation with vitamin E and selenium seemed to improve the situation. The most likely diagnosis is lipidosis, a metabolic disorder with complex etiology, which has rarely been described in turkeys.

Full Text Available Abstract Background DNA-based watermarks are helpful tools to identify the unauthorized use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs protected by patents. In silico analyses showed that in coding regions synonymous codons can be used to insert encrypted information into the genome of living organisms by using the DNA-Crypt algorithm. Results We integrated an authenticating watermark in the Vam7 sequence. For our investigations we used a mutant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, called CG783, which has an amber mutation within the Vam7 sequence. The CG783 cells are unable to sporulate and in addition display an abnormal vacuolar morphology. Transformation of CG783 with pRS314 Vam7 leads to a phenotype very similar to the wildtype yeast strain CG781. The integrated watermark did not influence the function of Vam7 and the resulting phenotype of the CG783 cells transformed with pRS314 Vam7-TB shows no significant differences compared to the CG783 cells transformed with pRS314 Vam7. Conclusion From our experiments we conclude that the DNA watermarks produced by DNA-Crypt do not influence the translation from mRNA into protein. By analyzing the vacuolar morphology, growth rate and ability to sporulate we confirmed that the resulting Vam7 protein was functionally active.

Full Text Available HAMP domain is a ubiquitous module of bacterial and archaeal two-component signaling systems. Considerable progress has been made recently in studies of its structure and conformational changes. However, the mechanism of signal transduction through the HAMP domain is not clear. It remains a question whether all the HAMPs have the same mechanism of action and what are the differences between the domains from different protein families. Here, we present the results of unbiased molecular dynamics simulations of the HAMP domain from the archaeal phototaxis signal transducer NpHtrII. Two distinct conformational states of the HAMP domain are observed, that differ in relative position of the helices AS1 and AS2. The longitudinal shift is roughly equal to a half of an α-helix turn, although sometimes it reaches one full turn. The states are closely related to the position of bulky hydrophobic aminoacids at the HAMP domain core. The observed features are in good agreement with recent experimental results and allow us to propose that the states detected in the simulations are the resting state and the signaling state of the NpHtrII HAMP domain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first observation of the same HAMP domain in different conformations. The simulations also underline the difference between AMBER ff99-SB-ILDN and CHARMM22-CMAP forcefields, as the former favors the resting state and the latter favors the signaling state.

Light exerts non-visual effects on a wide range of biological functions and behavior apart from the visual effect. Light can regulate human circadian rhythms, like the secretion of melatonin and cortisol. Light also has influence on body's physiological parameters, such as blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. However, human cognitive performance, alertness and mood under different lighting conditions have not been considered thoroughly especially for the complicated visual task like surgical operating procedure. In this paper, an experiment was conducted to investigate the cognition, alertness and mood of healthy participants in a simulated operating room (OR) in the hospital. A LED surgical lamp was used as the light source, which is mixed by three color LEDs (amber, green and blue). The surgical lamp is flexible on both spectrum and intensity. Exposed to different light settings, which are varied from color temperature and luminance, participants were asked to take psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) for alertness measurement, alphabet test for cognitive performance measurement, positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) for mood measurement. The result showed the participants' cognitive performance, alertness and mood are related to the color temperature and luminance of the LED light. This research will have a guidance for the surgical lighting environment, which can not only enhance doctors' efficiency during the operations, but also create a positive and peaceful surgical lighting environment.

Full Text Available Dentinogenesis imperfecta (DGI is an autosomal dominant disorder in which both the primary and the permanent teeth are affected. It occurs with an incidence of 1:8.000 live births. In DGI, the teeth are amber and opalescent, and the pulp chamber is obliterated by abnormal dentin. The enamel, although otherwise unaffected, tends to fracture, which leads to rapid attrition of dentin and marked shortening of the teeth. There are three types of DGI with similar dental abnormalities. Type I occurs in people with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic condition in which bones are brittle and easily broken. DGI types II and III occur in people without other ingerited disorders than mutations mapped to the 6.6-cM D4S2691-D4S2696 interval at $q21, which is the locus for the dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP gene. It is now believed that the DGI types II and III may be the same disorder. This paper reviews clinical manifestation, aspects of molecular genetics, and management of DGI.

A conformational search in vacuum for a series of 1,3-substituted pyrrolidine derivatives has been performed using the AMBER, AM1, PM3, and MNDO methods. Conformational analysis of the pyrrolidine ligands suggests that these compounds could have many conformers that populate the low-energy minima on the potential energy surface (PES). The conformational space occupied by the ligands is large and, in vacuum, the rotation barriers of different flexible bonds have energies between 0.5 and thousands of kcal/mol. By optimization, most conformers have energy barriers of 0-5 kcal/mol; thus, they could interconvert easily to obtain better interactions in the receptor active site. Optimized conformers having energy barriers of >5 kcal/mol display bad geometries with very large bond lengths and deformed rings. Shapes and heights of rotation barriers obtained through COSMO-AM1 single-point calculations in water are similar to those obtained from single-point calculations in vacuum. However, in water the energy barriers are lower, allowing most conformers to convert in other low-energy conformers. The best conformers in vacuum and in water are different: the gas phase best conformer has a helical shape, while the best conformer in water has an extended shape.

Specific intermolecular interactions, in particular H-bonding, have a strong influence on the structural, thermal and relaxation characteristics of polymers. We report here the results of molecular dynamics simulations of Nylon 6 which provides an excellent example for the investigation of such an influence. To demonstrate the effect of proper accounting for H-bonding on bulk polymer properties, the AMBER99sb force field is used with two different parametrization approaches leading to two different sets of partial atomic charges. The simulations allowed the study of the thermal and dielectric properties in a wide range of temperatures and cooling rates. The feasibility of the use of the three methods for the estimation of the glass transition temperature not only from the temperature dependence of structural characteristics such as density, but also by using the electrostatic energy and dielectric constant is demonstrated. The values of glass transition temperatures obtained at different cooling rates are practically the same for the three methods. By proper accounting for partial charges in the simulations, a reasonable agreement between the results of our simulations and experimental data for the density, thermal expansion coefficient, static dielectric constant and activation energy of γ and β relaxations is obtained demonstrating the validity of the modeling approach reported.

In this paper, the flux of photons inside the irradiation cell of the Gammacell-220 is calculated using an analytical method based on multipole moment expansion. The flux of the photons inside the irradiation cell is introduced as the function of monopole, dipoles and quadruples in the Cartesian coordinate system. For the source distribution of the Gammacell-220, the values of the multipole moments are specified by direct integrating. To confirm the validation of the presented methods, the flux distribution inside the irradiation cell was determined utilizing MCNP simulations as well as experimental measurements. To measure the flux inside the irradiation cell, Amber dosimeters were employed. The calculated values of the flux were in agreement with the values obtained by simulations and measurements, especially in the central zones of the irradiation cell. In order to show that the present method is a good approximation to determine the flux in the irradiation cell, the values of the multipole moments were obtained by fitting the simulation and experimental data using Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The present method leads to reasonable results for the all source distribution even without any symmetry which makes it a powerful tool for the source load planning.

One of the goals of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry is to celebrate the contributions of women to science. A question that has been frequently asked in this regard is... Why is it necessary to highlight women in the "age of equality"? The reasons are varied but the facts are that many women scientists worked in obscurity throughout the 19th and even well into the 20th century, sometimes publishing anonymously to be heard. This celebration of Women in Science is one way to recognize both the resiliency and passion of these women. As part of this celebration, Chemistry Central Journal's Thematic Series of "Women in Chemistry" includes this article describing the path several women took as they pursued chemistry careers spanning the latter part of the 20th century and into the early 21st century. Sharon Haynie, Nancy Jones, Cheryl Martin, Paula Olsiewski, Mary Roberts and Amber Hinkle each have unique story of their personal journey from childhood to adulthood. As you read these stories, listen generously, and feel free to share your own stories, comments and thoughts.

Consumer electronics have increasingly relied on ultra-thin glass screen due to its transparency, scalability, and cost. In particular, display technology relies on integrating light-emitting diodes with display panel as a source for backlighting. In this study, we undertook the challenge of integrating light emitters onto amorphous quartz by demonstrating the direct growth and fabrication of a III-nitride nanowire-based light-emitting diode. The proof-of-concept device exhibits a low turn-on voltage of 2.6 V, on an amorphous quartz substrate. We achieved ~ 40% transparency across the visible wavelength while maintaining electrical conductivity by employing a TiN/Ti interlayer on quartz as a translucent conducting layer. The nanowire-on-quartz LED emits a broad linewidth spectrum of light centered at true yellow color (~ 590 nm), an important wavelength bridging the green-gap in solid-state lighting technology, with significantly less strain and dislocations compared to conventional planar quantum well nitride structures. Our endeavor highlighted the feasibility of fabricating III-nitride optoelectronic device on a scalable amorphous substrate through facile growth and fabrication steps. For practical demonstration, we demonstrated tunable correlated color temperature white light, leveraging on the broadly tunable nanowire spectral characteristics across red-amber-yellow color regime.

Full Text Available Date samples of Amber cultivar straining from Medina region (Saudi Arabia were analysed for their chemical compositions and physicochemical properties of date fibre in the present study. Fibre rich date pieces were found to contain 80.2 g/100 g total dietary fibre, 16.32 g water/g sample water-holding capacity while 9.50 g oil/g sample oil-holding capacity. It can be stated from these results that fibre content of date is a valuable dietary fibre source and used in food production as an ingredient. Effects of the addition of date fibres at different concentrations (1, 2, 3 and 4% were investigated on the physical, chemical, sensory properties and mineral content of ice cream in the present study. It was found that elemental composition of ice cream samples was affected significantly by the addition of date fibre concentrations (p<0.05 and the rates of K, Mg and Zn especially increased in the samples depending on the content of date fibre while the content of Ca and P decreased. It was determined from the sensory results that ice cream sample containing date fibre in the rate of 1 and 2% received the highest score from panellists.

With nearly 100,000 species, the Acercaria (lice, plant lices, thrips, bugs) including number of economically important species is one of the most successful insect lineages. However, its phylogeny and evolution of mouthparts among other issues remain debatable. Here new methods of preparation permitted the comprehensive anatomical description of insect inclusions from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber in astonishing detail. These "missing links" fossils, attributed to a new order Permopsocida, provide crucial evidence for reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships in the Acercaria, supporting its monophyly, and questioning the position of Psocodea as sister group of holometabolans in the most recent phylogenomic study. Permopsocida resolves as sister group of Thripida + Hemiptera and represents an evolutionary link documenting the transition from chewing to piercing mouthparts in relation to suction feeding. Identification of gut contents as angiosperm pollen documents an ecological role of Permopsocida as early pollen feeders with relatively unspecialized mouthparts. This group existed for 185 million years, but has never been diverse and was superseded by new pollenivorous pollinators during the Cretaceous co-evolution of insects and flowers. The key innovation of suction feeding with piercing mouthparts is identified as main event that triggered the huge post-Carboniferous radiation of hemipterans, and facilitated the spreading of pathogenic vectors.

In this paper, we describe the growth and characterization of InGaN single quantum wells with emission peaks in the blue, green, amber and red spectral regions, grown by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy. Starting from the growth of a blue-emitting (peak ∼430 nm) InGaN quantum well at 860 deg. C the InGaN growth temperature was progressively reduced. The photoluminescence peak wavelength, measured at low temperature, shifts through the green and orange spectral regions and reaches 670 nm for an InGaN growth temperature of 760 deg. C. This corresponds to an energy lower than the currently accepted band-gap of the binary compound, InN. Spectral characteristics of the luminescence peaks will be discussed, including an analysis of the phonon-assisted contribution. Low energy secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis provides information on the indium content and thickness of the 'blue' and 'red' quantum wells. The results are combined to discuss the origin of the 'sub-band-gap' luminescence in terms of the combined influence of InN-GaN segregation and the effect of intense piezoelectric fields. (author)

Full Text Available Three experiments were conducted to examine the effectiveness of two forward crash warning systems, a flashing brake system and a flashing hazard system, using an advanced driving simulator. In Experiment 1, 20 subjects followed a lead vehicle with a desired time gap and braked when necessary. Results showed that time gap, velocity, and deceleration of the lead vehicle all significantly affected drivers’ brake response times. In Experiment 2, six brake response times to a sudden lead vehicle deceleration (0.6 g at 80 km/h were measured for six time gaps. Results showed that flashing brake system and flashing hazard system reduced drivers' brake response times by 0.14~0.62 s and 0.03~0.95 s, respectively, in the various situations tested. The effects of flashing color and illuminated size on drivers' brake response times were examined in Experiment 3. Results showed that flashing amber lamps reduced drivers' brake response times significantly by 0.11 s (10% on average compared with red lamps. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of both flashing systems in reducing drivers' brake response times in urgent situations and may warrant further consideration by manufacturers.

Full Text Available Rhopalosomatidae are an unusual family of wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata comprising less than 100 species found in the tropics and subtropics of all continents except Europe and Antarctica. Whereas some species resemble nocturnal Ichneumonidae, others might be mistaken for spider wasps or different groups of brachypterous Hymenoptera. Despite their varied morphology, all members of the family supposedly develop as larval ectoparasitoids of crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea. Here, we report on the first record of a fossil rhopalosomatid larva which was discovered in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Burma. The larva is attached to the lateral side of a cricket between the metafemur and the abdomen, impacting the natural position of the hind leg, exactly as documented for modern species. Additionally, the larval gestalt is strikingly similar to those of extant forms. These observations imply that this behavioral specialization, e.g., host association and positioning on host, likely evolved in the stem of the family at least 100 million years ago.

Humans demonstrate a circadian rhythm of melatonin production that closely tracks the daily light/dark cycle, with profound increases in circulating levels during the night-time and nearly nonexistent levels during daylight hours. Although melatonin is known to play a role in preparing the brain and body for sleep, its effects on cognition and brain function are not well understood. We hypothesized that declines in morning melatonin would be associated with increased functional activation within cortical regions involved in alertness, attention, and executive function. We measured the change in salivary melatonin from mid-morning to late-morning in 26 healthy young adults who were also exposed to a 30-min period of blue or amber light followed by functional MRI during a working memory task (N-back). Brain activation was regressed on the change in melatonin scores from the mid-morning to late-morning saliva samples and the role of light exposure was also assessed. Although overall melatonin levels did not change significantly over the morning at the group level, individual declines in salivary melatonin were associated with significant increases in activation within the left dorsomedial and right inferior lateral prefrontal cortex during the 2-back condition (Pmorning are associated with increased prefrontal cortex functioning and may play a role in the increased frontal activation that occurs following awakening.

We report here a multiprotein blind test of a computer method to predict native protein structures based solely on an all-atom physics-based force field. We use the AMBER 96 potential function with an implicit (GB/SA) model of solvation, combined with replica-exchange molecular-dynamics simulations. Coarse conformational sampling is performed using the zipping and assembly method (ZAM), an approach that is designed to mimic the putative physical routes of protein folding. ZAM was applied to the folding of six proteins, from 76 to 112 monomers in length, in CASP7, a community-wide blind test of protein structure prediction. Because these predictions have about the same level of accuracy as typical bioinformatics methods, and do not utilize information from databases of known native structures, this work opens up the possibility of predicting the structures of membrane proteins, synthetic peptides, or other foldable polymers, for which there is little prior knowledge of native structures. This approach may also be useful for predicting physical protein folding routes, non-native conformations, and other physical properties from amino acid sequences. PMID:19186130

Prefomulation approach utilizing the fractional-ordered randomized blocked design was employed for the formulation development and stability testing of morphine solution. Factors expecting to affect the stability of morphine were evaluated, i.e., vehicle, antioxidant, chelating agent, and pH of the solution. Eight formulations of a possible 16 were prepared according to the block design. The stability of the preparations was tested after 35 days of storage. The data of preformulation study were used for formulation development. The presence of glycerin and ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid in the formulation, and the pH of the solution adjusted to 4, stabilized morphine. The concentration of morphine decreased drastically in the formulations containing sodium metabisulfite, and those pH adjusted to 6. After 35 days, only 65% of morphine was found in the formulation containing sodium metabisulfite and pH adjusted to 6. The results of preformulation study were used for preparing oral morphine preparations. Samples were kept in amber glass bottles and stored at 4 degrees C and 25 degrees C/75% RH for 13 months. No precipitation of the four formulations was detected. Only a decrease of odor and a small increase of pH value of the preparations (preformulation approach. They were stable more than 13 months when stored at 4 degrees C and 25 degrees C/75% RH.

For the purpose of evaluating a dose rate to an individual due to a long-term release of nuclides from a HLW repository, a biosphere assessment model and an implemented code, ACBIO, based on the BIOMASS methodology have been developed by utilizing AMBER, a general compartment modeling tool. To demonstrate its practicability and usability as well as to observe the sensitivity of the compartment scheme, the concentration, the activity in the compartments as well as the annual flux between the compartments at their peak values, were calculated and investigated. For each case when changing the structure of the compartments and GBIs as well as varying selected input Kd values, all of which seem very important among the others, the dose rate per nuclide release rate is calculated separately and analyzed. From the maximum dose rates, the flux to dose conversion factors for each nuclide were derived, which are used for converting the nuclide release rate appearing from the geosphere through various GBIs to dose rates (Sv/y) for an individual in a critical group. It has also been observed that the compartment scheme, the identification of a possible exposure group and the GBIs could all be highly sensitive to the final consequences in a biosphere modeling.

The correct characterisation and a detailed knowledge of the materials originally used in violin varnishes, like natural resins, is crucial for the conservation in museums and for a suitable restoration technique. The study presented here reports on the potential of pyrolysis (Py) coupled with gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) for the identification of chemical markers of each resin; this technique is very sensitive and selective, it needs a small quantity of sample and does not require chemical treatments. To improve the chromatographic behaviour of polar compounds the derivatising agent tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) in combination with pyrolysis has been used, in the so-called TMAH thermochemolysis or thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM), or more simply pyrolysis-methylation. The natural resins studied were colophony, sandarac, manila copal, elemi, amber and benzoin, mainly composed of terpenic compounds, with the exception of the latter, composed of aromatic compounds. Many compounds were identified; in particular, methyl esters of resinous acids that, individually or in a group, can be used as chemical markers. However, through this technique it was not possible to distinguish between the sandarac and manila copal resins because their chromatographic behaviour is very similar. Finally, the procedure applied has been employed in the characterisation of original varnish samples.

Full Text Available Dinosaurs undoubtedly produced huge quantities of excrements. But who cleaned up after them? Dung beetles and flies with rapid development were rare during most of the Mesozoic. Candidates for these duties are extinct cockroaches (Blattulidae, whose temporal range is associated with herbivorous dinosaurs. An opportunity to test this hypothesis arises from coprolites to some extent extruded from an immature cockroach preserved in the amber of Lebanon, studied using synchrotron X-ray microtomography. 1.06% of their volume is filled by particles of wood with smooth edges, in which size distribution directly supports their external pre-digestion. Because fungal pre-processing can be excluded based on the presence of large particles (combined with small total amount of wood and absence of damages on wood, the likely source of wood are herbivore feces. Smaller particles were broken down biochemically in the cockroach hind gut, which indicates that the recent lignin-decomposing termite and cockroach endosymbionts might have been transferred to the cockroach gut upon feeding on dinosaur feces.

After the sensational rediscovery of living exemplars of the Cretaceous relict Metasequoia glyptostroboides -a tree previously known exclusively from fossils from various locations in the northern hemisphere, there has been an increasing interest in discovery of novel natural products from this unique plant source. This article includes the first complete compilation of natural products reported from M. glyptostroboides during the entire period in which the tree has been investigated (1954-2014) with main focus on the compounds specific to this plant source. Studies on the biological activity of pure compounds and extracts derived from M. glyptostroboides are reviewed for the first time. The unique potential of M. glyptostroboides as a source of bioactive constituents is founded on the fact that the tree seems to have survived unchanged since the Cretaceous era. Since then, its molecular defense system has resisted the attacks of millions of generations of pathogens. In line with this, some recent landmarks in Metasequoia paleobotany are covered. Initial spectral analysis of recently discovered intact 53 million year old wood and amber of Metasequoia strongly indicate that the tree has remained unchanged for millions of years at the molecular level.

The stability of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 was studied in solutions containing different concentrations of water, acetonitrile, and/or methanol, and in autosampler vials treated with nitric acid or silanized. When stored at room temperature (20 degrees C) for 24 h, aflatoxins G1 and G2 were stable only in solutions containing 100% organic solvent, whereas aflatoxins B1 and B2 were stable in solutions of methanol-water and acetonitrile-water at greater than 60 and 40% organic content, respectively. At 5 degrees C, aflatoxins G1 and G2 showed a significant decrease in concentration only when kept in less than 20% aqueous organic solvent. Significant loss of aflatoxins was realized in standard, commercially available amber type I borosilicate autosampler vials, but chemical etching of the vials with nitric acid or with silanization prevented aflatoxin degradation. These results indicate that aflatoxins are unstable in aqueous solutions and that this instability can be counteracted by the presence of at least 20% organic solvent and keeping the solutions at 5 degrees C or by the use of treated vials.

This study evaluated the effects of communications delays and winds on air traffic controller ratings of acceptability of horizontal miss distances (HMDs) for encounters between Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and manned aircraft in a simulation of the Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) airspace. Fourteen encounters per hour were staged in the presence of moderate background traffic. Seven recently retired controllers with experience at DFW served as subjects. Guidance provided to the UAS pilots for maintaining a given HMD was provided by information from Detect and Avoid (DAA) self-separation algorithms (Stratway+) displayed on the Multi-Aircraft Control System. This guidance consisted of amber "bands" on the heading scale of the UAS navigation display indicating headings that would result in a loss of well clear between the UAS and nearby traffic. Winds tested were successfully handled by the DAA algorithms and did not affect the controller acceptability ratings of the HMDs. Voice communications delays for the UAS were also tested and included one-way delay times of 0, 400, 1200, and 1800 msec. For longer communications delays, there were changes in strategy and communications flow that were observed and reported by the controllers. The aim of this work is to provide useful information for guiding future rules and regulations applicable to flying UAS in the NAS. Information from this study will also be of value to the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Special Committee 228 - Minimum Performance Standards for UAS.

Plasma medicine is one of the most attractive applications using atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma. With respect to direct contact of the discharge plasma with a biological membrane, reactive oxygen species play an important role in induction of medical effects. However, complicated interactions between the plasma radicals and membrane have not been understood well. In the present work, we simulated elemental processes at the first stage of physicochemical interactions between oxygen atom and phosphatidylcholine using the quantum mechanical molecular dynamics code in a general software AMBER. The change in the above processes was classified according to the incident energy of oxygen atom. At an energy of 1 eV, the abstraction of a hydrogen atom and recombination to phosphatidylcholine were simultaneously occurred in chemical attachment of incident oxygen atom. The exothermal energy of the reaction was about 80% of estimated one based on the bond energies of ethane. An oxygen atom over 10 eV separated phosphatidylcholine partially. The behaviour became increasingly similar to physical sputtering. The reaction probability of oxygen atom was remarkably high in comparison with that of hydrogen peroxide. These results suggest that we can uniformly estimate various physicochemical dynamics of reactive oxygen species against membrane lipids.